Against The World - Remastered
by Infinitee
Summary: "I spent the last few years chasing my desires and I found out I was just chasing my own demons. The violent riot of staying silent or quiet is torturous to those who need to hear something, and that violence has its own sort of beauty. And you are my beauty. And you are my violent smile. And you are my violent prayer." (Full Description Inside) Luke/OC, Rated T, Remastered.
1. November 9th, 2005

**This is a complete rewrite of my original story 'Against The World.' The story features an OC by the name of Kirsten Howell and follows the plot of Season 2 with multiple alterations. Luke/OC pairing, also features some reviewer OC's. If you don't like these types of stories, I suggest you don't read it then? (the hell are you doing here anyway lmao) **

**But for those who do, e****njoy.**

* * *

**STORY ONE**

* * *

_You can do this, you __**know **__you can. _Did she believe herself? Part of her did, and the other part of her wanted to get across the parking lot alive. Kirsten pauses for a moment before removing the glistening hunting knife from her thigh holster. She starts to take deep, even breaths, closing her eyes every time she inhales. Kirsten's hazel brown hair drifts to the side in its ponytail, the late Autumn wind pushing strands of her fringe into her eyes as she glances at the first walker.

"Howe's Hardware." She mutters to herself, the store parking lot is filled with decaying, rotting corpses that roam and stumble around the cracked concrete. They're bodies are spreaded around everywhere, but she can make it. _I hope Melissa's advice works, because if it doesn't, I'm screwed, _She thinks, biting down on her bottom lip as she gazes at the surroundings. The fence looked poorly built from where she is, it isn't that high of a jump, even though being a relatively short person, it'll be a bit of a challenge.

_You got this, _She encourages herself, walking up to the first deranged corpse. Kirsten slowly raises her hand up and thrusts the knife into it's skull with a grunt. Dark, red, slimy blood oozes from the wound and all over her hand. She pulls out the knife to be splattered with it, mentally sighing as her clothes stain a dark crimson. As its body wails to the ground, Kirsten gets on her knees and hovers over the once flesh eating monster. She digs her knife into it's abdomen, sliding it across its torso to create an entrance. It's rotten insides developed a smell over the period of time, and makes her feel like gagging.

She never really did get used to the smell.

She reluctantly places her knife on the ground and takes a deep breath, sliding her hands into the slit of its stomach that contained its foul, stenched organs. She looks down at her ill covered hands before grudgingly wiping them down on her clothes, staining them in the process. As soon as she finishes doing the unthinkable, she grabs her knife off the now blood dripped dirt and stands up.

She takes small but deep breaths as she begins to slowly walk into the meager herd, although keeping her head straight, her light brown-hazel eyes gaze from one walker to another. She walks unnoticed, thankfully. _Looks like Melissa was right about it._

Kirsten stumbles up to the fence, which looks a lot taller than she expected. She puts the knife in her holster and places her two hands on the board, pushing her body up as she wheezing. The board wobbles as one of her hands slip, sending her crashing down to the ground and landing on her side with a loud thud. She groans to herself as she shakes her head before sitting up, placing a hand on her forehead and rubbing it to regain her shaken sight.

Once she looks around, a few biters were stumbling towards the area. _Shit, _She thinks, jumping to her feet as fast as she ever thought she could and retrying to jump over. She jumps and grabs the board with her hands, gazing over her shoulder to see her surroundings. The biters were gaining on her.

She hauls one of her legs over the top of the board and swings herself over it, unexpectedly having her back land on the concrete with another loud thud. She groans before she sits upwards. "That hurt..." She wheezes, placing her hand on the small of her back and rubbing circles to dull the pain.

A self-back rub and a few curse words later, She stands up from her 'resting' spot and looks back at the board. It was rattling, surprising her that the poorly built structure didn't wail down. After looking around to see a comic book store and a shoe store, a sudden hinge clicks and an exit door opens. Kirsten quickly pushes herself inside the comic book store, but the bell gives away her immediate position.

"Shit," She mutters under her breath, looking around in the dark room but to no avail could she see anything. _It's too damn dark... maybe they won't see me if they come in, _She suggests to herself, propping up against a board of wood that was nailed to the ceil of the window. She slides her knife out of the holster and grips it tightly, waiting for who she assumes is her predator to enter.

The bell for the door rings, making Kirsten tense as their silhouette masked the tiled ground that was illuminated by the moonlight. The first thing her eyes gaze at was the tip of an AK-47, emerging from the door. As their full body came into sight, the door was still open and Kirsten was hiding beside it, masking yet another shadow over herself.

"I know you're in here, you don't gotta be scared." What made the situation worse to her, is that he's a man, holding a gun as he stayed in the one spot, aiming it around the room. She was all too familiar with people saying those words, and all those times they were lying. She wasn't going to give in, not just yet. She eyes him as best as she could in the dark room, he didn't have a strap around his gun. _I could easily disarm him from it if I play my cards right..._

Taking a deep breath, she puts the handle of knife in her mouth and latches her hands onto the back of his shirt, pulling him backwards and slamming his back on the edge of the door. She lightly winced at the noise of the wind being knocked out of him. He drops his AK-47 and falls to his hands and knees, coughing and gasping for air.

Kirsten kicks the gun out of his reach and places her boot on the side of his torso before pushing him over onto his back. She climbs on top of the man and pulls the knife out of her mouth before placing both of her hands over the handle.

She lifts the knife up into the air, just as she is going to slam the knife down into his skull, his hands stopped hers.

"Stop! Stop! What are you doin'?! I wasn't goin' to hurt you!" He pleads, his chest heaved up and down as he gasped for air. "You don't need to kill me!" He continues, looking up at her with pleading eyes.

Kirsten stops applying as much pressure as she originally was and her wrists lay in his hands, "Bullshit! You came at me with a gun, like _hell _you weren't!" She forcefully pushes the words out of her mouth, trying to sound as intimidating and strong as she can, before applying pressure again.

"Stop it! Stop! I- I wasn't goin' to shoot!" He pleadingly says, rushing into his words as he's still huffing. She gives him a skeptical look before she stops applying force, feeling his body untense under hers. She scrutinizes him for a moment, the only thing she could gather from him was that he was a scared mess. They were both silent for a short, awkward while. "I see you- um... fought your way through that herd, huh?" He casually yet awkwardly asks, looking up at her shirt as it's still stained by the blood. Not to mention the awful smell.

Kirsten fiddles her wrists out of his grasp and stands up on her feet, noticing his AK-47 near a pile of boxes and walking over to it. She bends down and reaches for the weapon. "What did I walk into?" She huffs out through small panting, turning around to notice that he is already on his feet. She carefully yet reluctantly hands him his weapon as he hesitantly nods.

"A community. We take people in and you play your part, contribute to the community. The more people we've got goin' in here, the better." He tells her, his southern drawl was smooth and a little more deeper sounding than when he was pleading for is life. It made her feel a little safer knowing that she scared the hell out of him.

She nods her head, sliding her knife carefully back into her holster. Any place but the cold ground to spend the night in would be like heaven Kirsten, especially after the incident with her sister. "Was that an invitation?" She casually asks, looking up at him with a slight grin.

He shrugs his shoulders, "If you want it to be."

She looks down at the ground for a moment. _Wouldn't hurt to stay for a bit, right? _"I give it a shot, then."

"Alright, then. I just need to tell Bill you're here and that you're comin' in." He informs her, reaching for a radio that's strapped to the brim on his pants. He lifts it up below his chin and clicks the red button, only for a consistent blur of static to retaliate. He looks down at it to find it cracked and a little dismembered. Kirsten tries to hold back a grin, realizing that she broke it in the tussle they had. "Alright, then. I can just take you up to his office... But only on one condition." He implies.

Conditions, huh? "What's that?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.

"You don't try and kill me on the way."

* * *

"Kirsten. That's your name, right?"

She nods her head at the raspy-like voice, gazing at the man who's referred to as Carver, his full name being William Carver as he introduced. His brown coat tops off with a fur lining around the hood, his gray-black moustache bent into a curve as the man sat up-right at his desk.

"Well," He continues, giving her a heartfelt smile as she stares at him blankly. "Welcome to my community. We've got rules in this sanctuary, Kirsten. And one doesn't disobey these rules, you understand? We all have a role to play, we all need to contribute to bring back civilisation. That may include some forced labour, but of course that's temporary-"

"Forced labour?" She looks up at him with her lashes, raising an eyebrow at his comment. Was he serious? Forced labour? In the outbreak? "So, you hold your people against their will?" She questions, tightening the grip on her folded arms as she stares at him.

"That's what being a leader is all about, you need to control your flock." He insists, planting his hands on his desks as he hovers over it. Kirsten glanced down at is hands before looking back up at his eyes, "What kind of leader would you be without authority?" He asks, looking straight at her with determination.

"What kind of person would you be without morals?" She retorts, "Not a very good one, right?" She unfolds her arms and lay them in her lap, keeping an eye on her knife and the gun in his holster. All she keeps feeling is bad vibe from this guy.

Carver sighs, hanging his head down low before backing into his chair. He slumps down in the leather furniture as he gazes over at her, "You tried to kill one of my men, where's the mortality in that?" He asks, making Kirsten roll her eyes at him.

She sits up in her chair before answering him, "He came in with a gun, was I supposed to let him shoot? Even if he wasn't, how would I have known?" She asks, gesturing her hand up to him in a sign of annoyance. Okay, so maybe that wasn't really moral of her to do. But from past experience, what else could she have done?

He sighs another time, looking down on her. "People with morals are sheep, Kirsten. People with strong-wills and domination are leaders." He darkly exclaims, looking down on her as she rolls her eyes. "You get what I mean?"

Kirsten sits up in her chair uncomfortably, it was hard and cold against her legs. It made chills race down her spine as she bit onto her bottom lip, "Well, that's sickening to hear." She uneasily exclaims, raising her eyebrows at the man as he grins.

"I'm not a people pleaser, Kirsten." He admits, still containing a grin on his lips as she looks away from him. For a moment, they were both silent. Carver eyed her clothes, noticing the rotten stench and sight of the guts. "You're covered in guts, you wanna explain that to me?" He asks, resting his elbows on his desk at his balled up hands were in front of his chin.

She looks down at her clothes, noticing that she has been ignoring the smell the whole time. "I had to fight them to get over the fence, one fell on me." She lies, looking up at him as convincingly as she could. If worse comes to worse, she'll know the real way to get out of a herd and he- or his guards, won't.

"Looks like you handled yourself."

Kirsten nods, "I did." A moment of silence struck as the two glanced at each other.

"Well," He stands up from his leathered chair and motions for her to stand up. "I can have Luke assist you over to Bonnie, she works in the supply room at night. Probably doing a count on them, she'd be able to get you new clothes. In return, your first station will be told to you in the morning and you'll get straight to work." He insists, walking over to the door and ushering her out.

As the door slams, Kirsten looks up at an awaiting Luke - who she had just learnt the name of.

"Yeah, I heard." He tells her, "I'll take you to her now."

* * *

"Here's your shirt, a t-shirt, and a pair of jeans." Bonnie handed the folded up wardrobe into Kirsten's arms, "I reckon you'll love this place, we've got electricity and fires that'll keep you warm at night. When's the last time you sat by a warm fire?" She asks, smiling as she guides her behind one of the separating walls to put her clothes on.

"A couple nights ago." She replies, slipping her boots off while she detaches the holster from her thigh. "They're not that hard to make." She admits from the other side of the wall.

Bonnie folds her arms and leans against the wall, smiling to herself as she replies, "I'll rephrase that; when's the last time you sat by a warm fire without worrying about it drawin' attention?"

"I guess you've got me there." Kirsten admits, pulling the drawstring on her tracksuit pants and pulling them down. "But you said you had electricity... You don't have heaters?" She questions.

Bonnie shakes her head, ignoring the fact that Kirsten couldn't visually see her do it. "Well, newcomers and workers stay in the pen when they aren't workin'. Guards stay in some of the rooms in the buildin'. But there'll be an expansion, and we'll move the workers in there." She informs her, unfolding her arms. Her voice sounded concerned, Kirsten figured that she didn't want her to feel driven away by whatever place this was. She had a feeling it wasn't exactly a good one, but... for what they're giving them? She could do a bit of forced labor for food...

"Sounds... comforting." Kirsten uncomfortably giggles, stepping out from behind the wall with clean clothes on. She almost felt refreshed, but it's not like she just had a warm shower.

"Come on, you should get to the pen." Bonnie insists, "It's gettin' late and you'll need to get up early for your first chore. You can chat and whatnot to the others in there, but once Troy says lights out, you'll need to hit the hay." She informs her, as Kirsten gives a small nod to the woman.

* * *

**A/N: **Eeeh! Hope you liked that chapter!

Kirsten will be staying at the camp longer than she did in the original, so that means more people as guards! So... send me your OC's! You can write them in the reviews and I'll PM you to tell you if you've been accepted or not. I'm in need of three males and three females, so send your OC'!

Here's the format.

**Name:**

**Age:**

**Gender (male/female):**

**Personality: **

**Facial appearance:**

**Clothing type:**

Can't wait to see what interesting characters you guys can create!

Until the next chapter, thanks for reading.

-Inf.


	2. Nothing To Appreciate

**A/N: **The big moment you've all been waiting for... maybe not that much. But here are the OC's! (I added another female and male, making it 8 OC's because some where really good)

**AquaDestinysEmbrace: Anne **

**JMiranda56: Natalie **

**Guest (Anonymous): Elena **

**XxClemClemxX: Vivian**

**ZombieSlayer995: Jackson **

**Guest (Anonymous): Joseph **

**Gingerman454: Alex **

**Guest (Anonymous): Jason **

Don't worry! Definitely no one-lined cameos like Nick Breckon did in Episode 3 for the 400 days characters. Sigh. Congratulations to all the accepted OC's! They were very creative and intriguing, and I can't wait to interpret them into the fic!

Let's begin the chapter!

* * *

Kirsten's arm ached as it pressed up against the hard, wooden boards of what the pen provides as a bunk-bed. _Pssh, _bunk-beds usually had mattresses, bed sheets and pillows that didn't feel like cardboard. It's not like she didn't know these necessities weren't available right now, but if the guards had them, she wanted them too. Because thinking like a greedy five-year-old was _much _better than sleeping on the ground.

The young woman felt a jabbing pain in the side of her shoulder, a _constant _jabbing pain. Kirsten opens one of her hazel eyes and fixates it on a tall, blonde guard. She had a pale complexion with bright blue eyes, almost as bright as Nick's who she had met last night. Kirsten found his mother, Judith, to be quite... grouchy. But she was nice, after a few compliments and forced smiles of course, but still nice. Kirsten shut both of her eyes again before taking in a breath and sitting up.

"Goodmorning, sunshine." An elegant yet forceful voice chimes, making Kirsten look side-ways at the lady as she uncomfortably looks away. "Alright, not good on nicknames..." She mumbles, "I'm Natalie, but Luke calls me Nattie. So I guess you can too." Smiling wide at the girl, she holds her hand out to Kirsten in an attempt to get some sort of confirmation that she was an alright person that Kirsten could trust.

Kirsten cautiously yet slowly grasped onto Natalie's hand, giving it a firm shake as she looked confused at the girl. Wasn't Carver's guards meant to be mean and dominant like Carlos was rambling on about last night? Natalie seemed like a nice woman, first impression wise at least. But who knew what was masked behind her kindness?

"Kirsten." She introduces herself, "It's nice to meet you... 'Nattie'. But," Kirsten gazes around the empty pen, it was so quiet, almost a tussle weed could come flowing by. "Where is everyone?" She asks, looking back at the blonde before getting out of her bunk and ducking so she didn't hit her head on the one above.

"Doing their chores somewhere or other. And the guards are doing their jobs. Hence why I'm here." She replies, motioning for Kirsten to follow her with AK-47. "Luke offered to take you to your first chore, but I just couldn't pass the opportunity to meet a new face, you know?" She chuckles, pulling up the pen gate as Kirsten stood there. She sure was mentioning Luke a lot, needless to say that he gave her a nickname.

Kirsten shrugs, "Yeah, I wouldn't want to lose the chance to meet me either." She grins, following Natalie as they continue their journey.

Natalie and Kirsten walk into the building where loud chatter and the sound of working filled her ears. "I'm going to need you to stay by that exit door while I go find out what you're doing." Natalie insists, pointing towards an exit door with signs all over it.

Kirsten walks herself over to the door and leans against the frame as Natalie aventures off to seek information. So far, this place was actually okay. The forced labour situation surely still bugged her, but she didn't know what it was like, so who was she to judge?

"Hey, we're twins." A voice caught Kirsten's attention, she sprang her head up to see a small girl smiling at her. Kirsten was caught off guard by her bandana and fringe that was potentially covering her right eye, I guess she wasn't all that happy with showing whatever was under there.

Kirsten looks down at the girl in confusion, "We're what?" She asks.

The girl points down at Kirsten's holster on her thigh, "We're twins," She repeats. Kirsten was just surprised that the guards didn't take it from her, but then she looked over to the girl. She notices a holster strapped around the girls thigh, a hunting knife visible inside of it. "You've got a knife holster on your thigh and so do I." She smiles, looking up at Kirsten with her bright green eye.

"Oh, yeah. Twins, I guess..." She smiles at the girl, "I'm Kirsten."

"I'm Anne, I'm one of the new guards." She smirks at Kirsten with pride, catching her off guard yet again. _Did she just say guard?_

Kirsten unfolds her arms and grins down at her, "Aren't you a little too young to be telling adults what to do?" She huffs out a small laugh.

Anne shakes her head, "Oh- I don't tell _them _what to do, I'm not allowed to." She almost sounded unhappy, maybe she took joy in ordering people around, but most likely got scolded for it. "My job is to tell the kids what to do. Like Sarah and Becca... sometimes Jason, even though that's hard to do, and Vivian if I'm lucky." She shrugs, turning her attention to Natalie who makes her way over to the two girls.

"Anne, shouldn't you be making sure Becca isn't trying to make Sarah cry again?" Natalie questions, ushering her along as she groans and disappears into the herd of working people. Natale huffs and turns over to Kirsten, "You're working with Bonnie in the armoury, then in the supply room with her again."

* * *

"Just through that door, you can take the supplies to the boys at the expansion." Bonnie informs, pointing her finger towards the exit door that Kirsten stood by earlier on. She had worked in the armoury for a couple of hours before it was time to get to the supply room. Not to mention the visit from Sarah, which actually made her more enthusiastic about the work. Maybe Sarah's personality rubbed off on Kirsten... before Anne had to come and get her before Carver found out she was roaming around the building.

Kirsten pushed herself out of the building with a box of tools, nails and bottles of water. How did they have so much supplies? Where did they scavenge? It explains why when she was in the area in the first couple days with Claire, she couldn't find anything. It's most likely why she was driven here in the first place. She made it to the door of the of the shoe store and pushed the door open with her back, her ears picking up inaudible arguing from the other room.

Instead of dropping the box near the door and minding her business, she was too damn curious on what was going on in there. As she drew closer to the back room, the voices sound like teenagers. She could even hear a third person, an older person.

As Kirsten entered, she fixated her eyes on a boy who shoved another up against the wall. There were the teenagers. Beside them was an old man, trying to break the fight rambling up in a calm, casual manner. Kirsten placed the box down onto the counter slowly, watching the dirty-blonde teenager attempt to throw a punch at the red-headed kid.

"Hey, hey!" Kirsten growls, glaring at the blonde at he turns around and returns the look with his fist still up in the air. "Shouldn't you be working?" She questions, a natural tone of lip caused the boy to grunt as he pushed the redhead further into the wall before letting go of him.

"Who the hell are you?" The blonde hisses, looking angry at her as he pants.

The old man glares up at him, most likely due to his rude behaviour. "Use your damn manners, she hasn't done anything to you." He heavily insists.

Kirsten rolls her eyes, "I'm your guardian angel from the supply room." She jokes, continuing once the boys raise their eyebrows at her. "I'm kidding, I'm just here to bring over supplies for the windows you need to board up... Which doesn't look like you've even attempted."

"Yeah, that's because this moron decided to be a jerk and tell Vivian complete _bullshit, _and now she won't even speak to me." He retorts, using one of his hands to shove the red-head back into the wall.

"Hey- she never trusted your sorry ass in the first place!" The redhead snaps, quickly moving out of the way of the blonde's attempted punch. He grabbed ahold of the redhead by his shirt collar and started to yell nonsense at him, mostly insults, as the old man pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

Kirsten sighs along with him, rolling her eyes at the two. "Have fun." She mumbles, turning around on her heels and heading back to the supply room.

* * *

"How's your day goin'?" Luke smiles at the smaller girl, looking down as Kirsten shrugs. He was guiding her to her next chore - which he was so intent on keeping secret until they got there.

"I don't know what to say," Kirsten grins, looking up at him with a glint of mischief in her eyes. "Beating your ass yesterday was way more fun than watching two teenaged boys fight over a girl." She teases.

"Aw, come on. You gotta let me live that one down-" Luke's voice was cut off by the antagonizing, bone-chilling like scream and a series of gunshots coming from around the corner. The two looked at each other in confusion before running off to wherever the scream was. Kirsten never heard a scream like that in her life, and she's living in the apocalypse. Screaming is _everywhere. _

Kirsten went from door to door, placing her ear against them while trying to hear the source of the scream. Once she finally made it to the first-aid room, she barged inside with Luke behind her.

Carlos slowly lowers his pistol before looking back at the two with sorrow, "Keep Sarah away from this room and... get Nick and Pete, please..." He pleads, putting his pistol back into the back of his pants. Luke sprinted out of the room as Kirsten's eyes gaze down at the mess of the bodies, a pale, decaying female and a blood drawn Judith.

She was bitten.

Kirsten looks up at Carlos, this was an utter disaster. "What happened?" She murmurs, as Carlos makes his way over to a gasping Judith who scratches at her neck and tries to dull the pain of what inevitably will hurt until she bleeds out.

"We were taking care of her and she turned. Judith was standing there and she attacked her, she's bitten on the neck..." Carlos informs her as she begins to place his two fingers on the clear part of her neck. "We've got nothing else we can do here, Kirsten. Nick and Pete need to say their goodbyes before she bleeds out or turns."

"We can't let her turn or bleed out, that's just-"

"What the hell happened in here?" Kirsten turns her head around to see a curious yet enraged Carver, Troy and Johnny - who she formerly found out the names of - by his sides. He shakes his head, "You didn't keep an eye on her?!" He growls, "I told you to keep a fuckin' eye on her!"

Before Carlos would respond, Nick rushed into the room. "What's goin' on?" His voice almost startled Kirsten, there was going to be fall out and she was sure of it. Soon enough, Luke, Pete, Rebecca and Alvin started to show. Anne was curiously standing behind the adults - trying her best to see past the fiasco of arguing. "W-What the hell happened, Carlos?!" Nick shrieks, pushing past everyone and kneeling down to his mother who passed out.

"I'm sorry, Nick..." Carlos apologizes, looking down to the ground as he continues, "She turned and... and we didn't realize until after."

"No... no, no, no..." Nick mumbles, his face in utter distress as he tried to choke back his tears.

Carver mumbles curses under his breath before pinching the bridge of his nose, "Nick, just end it." He demands, looking up at the man as he turns to him in utter terror. _Did he just...?_ "I won't say it again, Nick."

Luke glares at the older man, "Hey- now hold on a minute. You're seriously not tellin' him to do that, are you?" He growls, "That's his mother for Christ sake, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Stay the hell out of this, Luke. This doesn't involve you." Carver squints his eyes at Luke before deeply demanding, and pushing aside the group of people before getting to Nick. He looked down at the sobbing man with a facade, "I'm waiting, Nick." He pressures.

Pete was already fuming, he couldn't help but glare at the man the whole time, "There is no way I am lettin' my nephew put down his mother."

"There is no way he _can _put her down!" Rebecca jumps in, causing the crowd of people to begin arguing and shouting at each other. Fingers were pointed and Carver was growing furious by the second.

"Shut the fuck up! Everyone! Shut up!" Carver snaps, glaring around the group as he almost pouted, "This ain't how my community works, you hear me?"

Kirsten glanced around at everyone who painfully stood silent, wondering how the hell could this man make someone shoot their mother? He was already breaking down, not to mention the unenthusiastic attitude he had last night. This camp wasn't how she thought it was turning out to be, it was _horrible._

"I'll do it," She reluctantly speaks up, catching Luke, Nick and most of the community by surprise. Carver spun himself around to glare at her, "Why are you trying to make him do this? What is wrong with you?" She spits out at him, making her voice seem as intimidating as possible, although trying to hold back any real emotion.

"No, no you won't. This has nothing to do with you." Carver harshly replies, "Listen, I know you're new to the fold, but you're not in any position to be declaring what you will and won't do, you understand? You join, you obey."

Kirsten looked up at him in utter shock, completely trying her best to hide whatever fear she had left in her. "Then let me go? Let me take my chances out there, because there is no way I am going to stay here and let him put down his own _mother, _because some sick, sadistic asshole told him to."

Anne glanced up at her worryingly, "K-Kirsten, maybe you shouldn't-"

"Leave?" Carver scoffs, "There is no leaving. You're apart of my community, my members do _not_ go astray. A sheep can't leave the pen whenever it wants." He growls, looking at her dead in the eye as she angrily frowns. He turns himself over to Nick before crouching down to his level, "If you don't shoot her, she'll be left to rot. Your choice, Nick." He insists in a dark tone of voice, sending chills down Kirsten's spine.

"You can't be serious!"

Another argument begins to break out, another havoc mess to be created as Kirsten just stands there, disgusted, looking down at the man as he demands that Nick put his mother down. This was absurd, this was... inhumane. No person should ever have to put their mother down, no person should ever be forced to do something this excruciating.

Carver was growing harsher on Nick, Kirsten couldn't even hear what the man was saying since the arguing was growing so loud, but she could just tell they were threats. Body language and facial expressions from Carver gave it away. Carver handed his revolver over to Nick as he reluctantly grabbed onto it. Luke was almost pleading with him not to do, and to give him the gun, but Carver wouldn't allow it. He wouldn't allow anything that Luke insisted.

Two words made Kirsten fiercely make her way up to them.

"_Do it!_"

But before she could stop him, the gunshot went off.

_**BANG!**_

Kirsten stopped in her tracks, the arguing stopped, and so did Carver's demanding. Her gut felt like it was twisted into a thousand knots and she didn't know what she was feeling anymore. Disgust, fear, sympathy... she had no idea. All she knew is that her shoulders slumped down in defeat, like this was a battle she was fighting even though this wasn't about her.

Carver grinned, snatching his revolver out of Nick's limp hand and giving him a pat on the back. Standing up, he pushes past Kirsten as she rushed over to Nick. Luke followed her suit, along with Pete, Alvin, Rebecca and Carlos. Kirsten wasn't great at comforting people, she was speechless most of the time because all she could say was white-lies. But she didn't need to try, Nick's companions were already bet her to it as he sobbed into his hands.

She couldn't stay here. She couldn't let this happen to anyone else, either... But she had her father to still look for. Two years into the outbreak, and there was still no sign of him. And she couldn't put that on hold anymore.

She was escaping, no matter the circumstances.


	3. No Sanctuary

**A/N: **Hope you enjoy the chapter! After some considering, I've decided to make Kirsten a few years older. 21 seemed a little young, so I decided on 23. Not that much of a difference, besides that she turns 24 towards the end of Season 2. Hope you don't mind. :)

* * *

A couple days rolled passed, and Kirsten was stuck. Stuck in this hell hole of a camp that she thought was her sanctuary. Coming to the conclusion that there wasn't any sanctuaries, and if there was, it was going to be hell to get to the good ones. She heard the circling rumor about Wellington, but never really took to it. Claire insisted that their father was there and he was alive, but Kirsten was having doubts. What else could she think? She hasn't seen the man in two years, there was no sign of him at the police station where he worked, and he never made it home. But... It's always worth a shot. Either way, she finds civilisation.

Kirsten mentally sighs, wondering where the hell all else of her family was. Her Dad was missing, Claire didn't make it, Mom passed a long time ago, her aunt Liz was God knows where, maybe she was still in Virginia and her uncle- former uncle, Lee was most likely held up in the prison outside of Atlanta. The one she never bothered to check... but she couldn't turn back now. Maybe Lee was in Wellington, too? He sure would have heard about it unless he's still in that prison...

Kirsten's head jerks around to the door opening, she puts down the tools and equipment, expecting it to be a guard to take her to her next chore. But, it wasn't. It was Rebecca, stressed out more than Kirsten has ever seen her.

"Something wrong, Rebecca?" Kirsten asks, looking the woman up and down as she quietly shuts the door.

Rebecca frowns, walking towards Kirsten and sitting down in the plastic chair with her hands cupped under her stomach. "I just... I've got no one else to turn to." She mumbles, audible enough for Kirsten to hear. The younger woman pulls up another plastic chair next to her and looks at her confusingly. "...It's not his." She blurts out, looking up at Kirsten fearfully as the girl raises an eyebrow.

Kirsten's eyes trail down to Rebecca's stomach, soon widening as she comes to realization. "The baby's not Alvin's...?" She murmurs, "D-Does he know?" She asks, much more louder and audible, but still maintaining a soft and delicate approach.

Rebecca shrugs her petite shoulders as she continues to frown, her face clearly in distress, "I... I don't know, I hope not." She replies, burying her head into her hands, "God... this is a fuckin' nightmare..." She exclaims, looking back up at Kirsten as the younger woman nervously holds onto her forearm.

Kirsten had no idea what to say, no idea how to comfort her. Like what happened with Nick's mother, she couldn't say anything other than white-lies. That's until something clicked inside her head... Who's baby is it? "Who's the father?" She mumbles, trying to her hardest not to upset Rebecca than what she already was. The woman remained silent, only leading Kirsten to be more curious. "Who's the father, Rebecca?" She asks more harshly, looking down at Rebecca's stomach until they locked with her eyes.

Rebecca somberly sighs, "It's Bill's..." She murmurs as Kirsten scrunched up her nose. "B-But you can't tell anyone, and I mean _anyone. _All hell will break loose if you do, and... and I'm trusting you." She appeals, looking at Kirsten with plead in her eyes.

Kirsten nods her head, looking down at her hands concerningly. "Yeah... yeah. I won't tell anyone... but does anyone else know?" She asks, her eyes settling back onto Rebecca as she looks away reluctantly.

"Luke, Pete, maybe Nick, Carlos..." Her eyes drift back to Kirsten, "Judith _did _know... and Carver." She informs, as Kirsten gives her a nod of her head. "Luke told me that a few of Bill's guards found out, but... I'm not one-hundred percent sure."

Kirsten once again nods her head, opening her mouth to say something but stops herself as the hinge clicks again and Luke entered.

"Fancy seein' you here, Rebecca..." Luke awkwardly smiles, looking down at the two women as they raise eyebrows at him. "What are you guys-" He soon snapped into realization. Why else would Rebecca come to talk to her? "Oh, you're tellin' her..." He slightly whimpers, standing by the door almost uncomfortably. Rebecca nods her head, looking down to her lap as a silence filled the air.

Kirsten cleared her throat and looked up at Luke, "Who am I being a slave for now?" She slightly smirks, standing up from her chair as Rebecca mimicked her.

Luke jerks his head towards the door with a grin, "It's alright. You've got Bonnie in the armoury with Vivian." He informs her before looking over to Rebecca, "You should get some rest, alright? You're not lookin' too good." He insists.

"I'm fine, Luke." Rebecca affirms, lightly pushing past him as she quickly exited. Kirsten was just so... confused. Did she choose to do what she did with Bill? Was she forced to? How does Alvin not know? Was the baby really Bill's? How could she be sure?

Luke snapped the younger woman out of thoughts, "Hey, let's go."

* * *

Luke scrutinized the woman as they took to a journey to the armory. She was like a blank canvas to him, besides the toughness. That bit he understood - from experience, of course. But he knew nothing about her, and he was determined to find something out. "You know, I don't know a thing about you, Kirsten." He urges, "Where are you from? You got family somewhere? How old even are you?" He curiously asks, making her turn her head up to him with wide eyes.

"Easy, cowboy." She teases, holding a hand up to him. "One question at a time." She asserts, grinning like an idiot for the first time she came to this place. Luke and Kirsten were really getting along over the few days, he didn't try to pry until now, which was a little weird.

Luke smirks, "Alright, alright... How old are you?" He asks, looking over to her again.

"Twenty-three."

Luke's eyes widened, "You seem younger than that." He admits, smiling to the woman as she shrugs.

She lightly returns a grin as she looks off to the side, "Didn't realize. I'll take it as a compliment, though." She jokingly admits, tucking her fringe behind her ear before letting her hand loosely fall to her side. She was quite the joker, she knew she looked younger than she really was. To be honest, it's gotten her out of some bad situations with looters and bandits.

He huffs out a laugh, "Well, it was a compliment, and I don't make those very often." He affirms with a smile to her, catching the woman off guard as she widens her eyes at him. That wasn't an attempt to flirt, was it? Or was she just overthinking? She had to think of something witty to say... and fast.

She awkwardly smiles at the taller man, "You're not a very good liar, Luke." She boldly replies, making him raise an eyebrow at her. "But onto the next question." She quickly dismisses the subject.

While grinning, Luke scrutinized her again before continuing, "Family?" He asks. Well, there was the killjoy of the conversation.

Kirsten shrugs with a pout of her bottom lip, "Dad's missing, he's somewhere... hopefully alive." She admits before continuing, "My sister didn't exactly make it, and my Mom isn't around to see the end of the world." She shrugs.

"What- uh, happened to her?" He gently asks, stopping at the armory door and ignoring the chatter from Vivian and Bonnie.

Kirsten leaned against the frame of the door, folding her arms as she looked up at him. "I'll spare you the sob-story and just say that she died before this happened." She tries to subside the beginning of the overwhelming feelings in her and places her hand on the handle of the door. Before she could turn it, Luke stopped her. She gazed up at him with a pause, "Is there another question you're just dying to ask?" She grins, slowly taking her hand off handle.

Luke kept his eyes on her hand for a moment, silently pausing as she confusedly looked up at him. Once she called his name out, he shook his head, "No... no. I can save them for later. You should get to work." He insists, opening the door for her and ushering her she entered, he shut the door. Leaving her confused and dumbfounded as she stared at Vivian and Bonnie.

Vivian's hazel eyes never left the magazine she was loading, "You're confused. Why?" She asks, setting the magazine down and looking up at Kirsten with curiosity. Her black, wavy hair bounced as she moved her head.

Kirsten snapped towards Vivian, again, with confusion. Was Kirsten's lack of knowledge on what just happened so obvious or was Vivian some master mind? Kirsten walked up to one of the seats and sat down, "I'm not confused." She lightly pouts as Bonnie hands her a magazine.

Vivian snickers, "Sure, Kirsten." She grabs a handful of bullets as she begins another magazine.

"Did Luke do somethin' stupid?" Bonnie grins, looking up at Kirsten momentarily.

Kirsten shakes her head, grabbing a couple of bullets as she begins to load. "No, no, he didn't do anything. It's fine." She tries to push the conversation away from Luke, but aimlessly fails. Bonnie smiles to herself as she started going on a spree of words about her love for Luke. It was growing more obvious over the course of days, she just wonders if Bonnie ever got to take it further like she seems to want.

"But, ain't he a charmer?" Bonnie casually asks, looking up at the girls with a smile as Vivian sighs a laugh. Bonnie definitely took it further.

Kirsten raises her eyebrow at Bonnie, "A charmer?"

Bonnie nods her head, "Yeah, you know, with his looks?" She presses, making Kirsten want to roll her eyes. But instead, she couldn't help but giggle. Bonnie was such a mush when it came to Luke. "I'll be back," Bonnie announces, standing up from her seat. "I forgot to give Elena the box of supplies, she's workin' with the guys today. Poor girl." She grins, speaking as she rushes out of the room.

Vivian fixates her eyes on a grinning Kirsten for a moment, placing the magazine down before grabbing another."You'll get there, Kirsten." She breaks the silence, making Kirsten wipe the grin off her face and look up at her.

"Get where?" She curiously asks after a small pause.

Vivian keeps her head down, "You know where." She says, still grinning as Kirsten raises an eyebrow. Where exactly was she supposed to be going? If she was talking about 'out of this place', then she's right. "Deep down inside, you want something. Even though you might not realize it, you'll eventually reach your goal." She insists, making Kirsten even more confused.

"I don't know what my goal is," Kirsten says, "Wait- I don't even have a goal?"

"You do, trust me. Take me for instance, I never knew I had such an ability to tell whether people are lying to me or not. At first, I denied it. I felt so invasive to others and it freaked me out a little." She admits, "But it began to grow on me, I learned to accept and embrace it. That's how I achieved my goal of being a Criminal Justice Major at one of the top universities."

Kirsten snickers, "That explains the 'Yale' shirt." She places the magazine down and grabs another.

"Hey, I was in my dorm room when I decided to look out my window and see my classmates eating each other." She admits, placing down the magazine. "Anyway, like I said, you'll realize your goal."

Kirsten scrutinized her for a moment, "You know, you talk a lot about my goal. Mind telling me what it actually is?" She casually asks, folding her arms as she leans back into her chair.

"You're going to have to figure that one out for yourself, Kirsten."

* * *

Kirsten sunk back into her chair in the pen, staring into the fire as it reflected in her hazel eyes. She was worn out, tired, and still angry from the Carver business a couple days ago. Some of the others went to sleep while the rest were still working. Kirsten luckily got off early, but still felt like shit. After some considerable thinking, Kirsten might've found her goal. That being her Dad. Maybe that's what Vivian was talking about, that's what she meant.

Nightfall had come, and Kirsten was almost drifting off in her chair. Only for her to spring her head up when Elena coughs. Kirsten rubs her eyes as she slowly sits up, gazing over to Elena as she reaches her hands out towards the fire.

"Sorry," Elena apologizes, glancing at Kirsten momentarily. "Didn't mean to wake you."

Kirsten shakes her head, letting out a yawn as she does. "No need to apologize, I shouldn't be sleeping in the chairs anyway."

Elena concerningly looks over to Kirsten as she leans back into her chair, "You don't look too good, how are you feeling?" She politely yet flatly asks, folding her arms over her chest as the fire illuminated her green eyes.

"Hunky-dory." Kirsten sarcastically replies, "Thanks for asking." She runs her hand over her face and blinks at the fire.

"I don't think I got the chance to thank you last night." Elena admits, pulling off her baseball cap and setting it on her knees. "My revolver was gone, I don't think it would have ended well if you didn't come and stop Troy."

Kirsten swats her hand over to Elena, "No need. I hate that asshole anyway." She exclaims, sinking back into her chair again. She caught herself just in time and avoided dozing off. She really needed some sleep.

"Well, thank you." She smiles, gazing over to Kirsten as she tries to keep her head up. "You should probably go rest, you look like you're about to pass out."

Kirsten stops herself from dozing off and glances over to her, "Yeah, yeah. I'm on it."

* * *

**A/N: **Hahaha, oh Kirsten you silly woman. If only that was your goal deep down inside. It's not lol.

I hope I interpreted Vivian correctly, sorry if I didn't XxClemClemxX!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	4. Vulnerability

**A/N: **Alright, just a friendly note. If in the first few chapters, you don't see your OC as much as the others, **do not fret!** They will be playing a much bigger role once we get to Episode 3 than they are now and will not be left out! _Some_ will even be escaping the herd, so get excited for that!

**On a lower note, a mention of RAPE/RAPISTS are in this chapter! If you are offended by that type of language, I advise that you DO NOT read!**

Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Kirsten sprawled out in the plastic chair, one of her legs swinging off the arm rests as she sighed. _Finally, _a day of relaxation. A day of relaxing that she got handed, although highly suspicious. She couldn't believe it, but she had been here for almost two weeks. Why was she still here? This was hell, torture, anything but a sanctuary. Although there was food. The food was satisfying, at least.

_Wait, _Kirsten shook her head. Her dad was the main priority, alongside surviving. She couldn't stop thinking about him, when she did chores, trying to fall asleep, eating, relaxing, anything. She just couldn't knock him out of her head. When she finally did, Luke would replace him. Even though Kirsten was friends with most of the people in the pen, along with trusting them, she trusted him the most.

Always taking her to her chores, back to the pen, she'd always go to talk to him on her breaks, too. She was even getting closer with Nick too, she tried her best to help him through the time of his loss, and she thought she was going really well. To Kirsten, death was just a minor incident. She had gotten so used to it, used to all of it, that it never really phased her. But when it did, she'd completely fail to function. She'd be too aggressive but also want to be coddled at the same time. But, no one was ever really there to give her what she wanted.

"Hey, Kirsten." A voice snapped the woman out of her thoughts as the pen gate opened, "You're really quiet today." Sarah claims, looking over to the woman as Becca came rushing up behind her.

Becca nodded as she huffs, "Yeah, what gives?" She bitterly asks, placing her hands on the gate and using all her force to push it down to the ground as she grunts.

Kirsten grins at the two, "Nothing, just exhausted." She admits, shaking her head as she stood up from her seat. That was half true, it was also her thoughts that were bringing her down. Needless to say that's all she had. "What are you guys doing over here?" She asks, trying to take her mind off... well, her mind.

"Anne went to pee, and Becca dragged me out of there." Sarah hesitates, looking around frantically as she whispers. "We can't stay here, my Dad will find out and so will the guards..." She frowns, tucking her balled up hands underneath her chin. Kirsten looked down at Sarah and smiled, she was so innocent and fragile. She was partially glad that people like Sarah existed. But she knew how they would end up, and... let's just say it's not the best of ways.

"Quit whining, Sarah. God, you're such a baby." Becca groans, making Sarah pout insecurely as she mumble a defense. "Kirsten isn't going to get us in trouble, right?" She looked up at the older woman, giving her a wide grin as Kirsten raised an eyebrow at Becca.

She shook her head, "I'm not going to rat you guys out," She states, "but I will take you back to your station before someone else does." She folds her arms, grinning at the younger girls as Becca rolls her eyes. Kirsten began to walk towards the gate, ushering the two girls along with her.

"Ugh, Kirsten, come on. Don't be such a downer, just let us run around for a bit?" She complains, folding her arms as Kirsten lifted up the gate.

The older woman shook her head, "It's not my choice, Becca. And I don't want Troy hitting you again because you did something stupid." She asserts, looking over her shoulder and at the teenager as she rolled her brown eyes.

Becca quickens her pace as she catches up to Sarah and Kirsten, "Hey, It's not like I knew he didn't like to be called a pervert." She defends as she folds her arms, "And besides, he is anyway..." She mumbles, pouting as she looks off to the side while Sarah kept quiet. This type of subject wasn't for her.

"Pervert or not, you need to learn when to keep your mouth shut." Kirsten insists, coming out a little harsher than she intended. "You don't know the world like I do, Becca, and you don't want to. You just keep your head down and you'll be fine."

Becca scoffs, throwing her hands up in the air in a fit. "Um, hello?! Am I talking to Kirsten or an automatic robot?" She hysterically hisses, "What happened to you telling me to defend myself? To stand up for myself?" She hysterically asks, folding her arms tight as she looked up to the woman. Did Becca look at her like some sort of role-model? A iconic figure or something? What was Shel there for then?

"Calling someone a pervert isn't standing up for yourself," She boldly replies, "Especially when his comment wasn't towards you. I told you, I could handle it."

"Pssh, barely." She snickers, "Luke had to come and save your _damsel in distress_ ass-"

"Becca that's _enough._" Kirsten growls, balling up her fists before swinging the supply room open. She glared at Becca before pushing her in, letting Sarah peacefully enter on her own.

Before Becca could utter yet another witty comment, Anne came huffing and puffing towards the door, leaning her hand on the door frame and hunching down as she panted. "I was looking everywhere for you two!" She hisses through her breaths, "Carver almost found out that you two were gone!"

Sarah gulped, her eyes widening as she looked at Anne in fear. "D-Did my Dad find out?" She stutters, looking like she wanted to squeeze out of existence at how much she was tensing.

Anne shook her head, finally regaining her breath. "No, he didn't. It's okay, Sarah." She smiles at the taller girl, letting Sarah cool down as she sighed in relief. Anne curiously looked over to Kirsten as she was about to leave before she stopped her, "Wait, Kirsten. What are you doing here?"

Kirsten stopped in her tracks and glanced over at Anne, "I was just bringing them back here. Don't let them out of your sight, okay? Especially Satan over there." She insists, referring to Becca before giving a half-smile to Anne as she nods. Becca rolls her eyes with a sigh of annoyance.

Anne smiles, "I will. Thanks, Kirsten."

Kirsten nodded her as she shut the door, beginning to walk back to her destination. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have a fifteen-year-old as a security guard in a place where people had to be constantly monitored. She thought Carver was smart? She thought that Carver would be logical enough to-

**_YANK!_**

Kirsten was pulled out of her thoughts - _literally,_ by a masculine hand latching onto her upper arm almost aggressively before pulling her behind a dark, almost forgotten wall. She stumbled backwards as her 'captor' held tightly onto her arm, waving her hands around.

"Hey! Let go of me!" She screeches out in fear, trying to elbow whoever had her. But she missed every time until she stopped when the man hushed her.

"Shh, it's me! It's just me!" A familiar voice informs the young woman in a hushed tone of voice, spinning her around by her arm and placing their hands on her shoulders.

Kirsten regained herself and looked up at the man, "Luke? What the hell are you doing grabbing me and dragging me behind walls?!" She hisses, keeping her voice quiet as she shrugged off his hands. "I thought you were a rapist or a murderer or something, you asshole!" She was angry, very angry. Fuming, almost.

The thought of being incapable and overpowered scared her, _a lot. _She was used to being a minority when it came to men, but when being in the minority threatened her sisters' life or whatever innocence she had left, she wouldn't dare to give up without a fight. Let alone, give up. But, she didn't have much to fight for anymore besides herself.

His eyes widened, not only because she mistook him for a rapist, but because he had never seen her scared before. It was completely new to him, completely new to see a strong, independent girl who kicked his ass a couple weeks ago, be so scared when it came to being dragged behind a wall abruptedly. "No, I'm not a rapist. I'm far from it... Don't be scared- I just- I need to talk to you about somethin'." He sounded angsty, more aggressive than usual. What was he so riled up about?

"I wasn't scared." She forcefully growls at im, although keeping a hushed tone of voice. Kirsten scrutinized the man for a moment, it was hard to see his face in the dark. But when she did, her eyes widened. "What the hell happened to your face?" She lightly screeches, placing her hand up to his face in an almost motherly way as she examined the bruises and cuts. It wasn't anything too serious, but it surely didn't look accidental.

Luke almost rolled his eyes at the motherly gesture, but stopped himself when he realized that was the whole reason why he dragged her behind here. To be honest, he really didn't mind her touching his face. He _sort of _enjoyed it.

"Luke?"

Luke took his face away from her grasp once she pressured him, "Alright, look." He began, "Ever since I got to this place, Carver didn't exactly like the way I suggested he... 'lightened up' about the rules, ya know? I mean, he's forcin' people to do work for shitty food that he doesn't even give enough of, and expectin' us to look up at him like he's some sort of God?!"

Kirsten was used to the last part, that wasn't rare with Carver. It was, like he said, you join, you obey. If you didn't look up at Carver like he was a God, or called him out for it, he'd hurt you. Kirsten copped that first hand when she told him to "Buzz off" about another speech on 'respect' that she got almost everyday, and that's only putting it in a PG manner.

Kirsten nods, "Yeah, I understand that last bit." She admits, "But what are you going to do about it? There's obviously a reason for you dragging me behind a dark wall like a child-abductor and showing me, you know, that." She points towards his face, circling her finger in the air as she grins.

He squinted his eyes at the younger woman as she continued to grin, "Are you going to take this seriously? Because I don't have to ask what I'm about to if you don't."

Kirsten really did wonder if she took things with Luke seriously. Well, she did when she was a stab away from killing him. But she perked up, tilting her head up to him as she wiped the grin off her face. Now, this is serious. "Yes, I'll take this serious. I promise. Fully serious."

Luke sighs, easing into his words. "We're leavin' this place, and we want you to come with us."

Kirsten's eyes widened, her mood immediately bounced back. This is what she needed, what she was waiting for. A perfect moment with people to escape, and once she does, she can part ways and go find her Dad. Her plan was brilliant! Uh- According to her.

She nods her head, "Like _hell_ am I staying here, of course I'm coming." She smiles, "So, who's coming? When? Where are we going? Give me some details, farmboy."

Luke puts his hands up as if it was a defense from her words, "Alright, alright. Jesus..." He sighs, "Rebecca wants to leave before the herd gets worse, Carlos said that there's a clear path where you came in from."

"So they moved?"

Luke nods, "Must've been from all the noise in the pen... Anyway, Reggie said he'd help us but he ain't comin'. Bonnie... she still hasn't figured out what she's gonna do."

If she was honest, Kirsten really liked Bonnie, although she didn't really show it. Besides Luke, she considered her a very close friend. Despite knowing her for almost two weeks.

"She's not coming?" She questions, trying her best not to show any sadness or vulnerability. Not only that, but was Bonnie nuts?

Luke shrugs, "She said she had to think about it."

"Pete and Nick?"

He was almost offended when she asked, "Like hell would I leave 'em here."

"Alright, I get it." She bounces back, holding her hands up at his vicious tone of voice. She couldn't help but smile, she was so glad she would finally get to leave and in full force, too. She'll be okay, and she'll be ready.

"So, when are we leaving?"

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you the chapter, a review is much appreciated!

-Inf.


	5. Breaking The Barricade

**A/N: Alright! 5 chapters in, and this is most likely going to be longer than some since it's a very special chapter. I now, present to you, Chapter Five of Against The World; Breaking the Barricade.**

* * *

"Did it hurt?" Sarah quietly asks, looking at the cuts and bruises on Luke's face as he turned and smiled to her. "It looks like it did..."

Luke swatted one of his hands at the teen in a playful manner, "Nah, nah. It's nothin' Sarah. Don't you worry 'bout me, okay?" He insists, his head following the movement of Carlos' hands as he examines small injuries. Kirsten lightly smiled, she surprised that he was gentle with Sarah. Most of the guards here were rough with the children, Becca especially. It doesn't help with her attitude, then again, they provoke her attitude in the minority of times.

Carlos briefly smiles at his daughter before pulling the latex gloves off his hands, "You have minor internal contusion on your mandible, it should start to heal in a few days." He informs the younger man.

Luke looks at him with a raised eyebrow and a small grin, "Could you say that in English?" He asks, placing his hand on his jaw and moving it around.

Kirsten smiles, "You've got internal bruising on your lower jaw." She replies, taping on her lower jaw. Luke looked towards the woman with raised eyebrows, Carlos and Sarah mimicking his actions. "What? You never took eighth-grade Health?"

Carlos lightly chuckles as he earns a small glare from Luke, "Other than that, you're completely fine." He replies, placing the medical waste in the small, plastic trash bin. He looks back at Luke who sat on the edge of the bed in the poorly supplied infirmary. "But, we do need to talk about the... departure." He looks over to Kirsten, "Privately."

Luke shakes his head, "No, she's coming, she's gotta know too."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." He apologizes, earning a nod from Kirsten. "Luke, I wanted to discuss where we're going to go. I know there's a Civil War site near by, we could make a stop and maybe rest for the night before we head off."

Luke nods his head, "Sounds like a plan. What about you, Miss Howell?" He glances over to her giving her an assuring smile.

She nods her head, "Great, a night sounds fine."

* * *

A quiet, calm, and peaceful night is what Kirsten was enjoying. Vivian led the other three girls up to the roof but the entrance inside, this was the only night she was allowed to do so. Kirsten was just shocked that Carver let Vivan take them up here with only one guard on watch, and he was on the other side. The four girls were peacefully laying down on the roof, ignoring the snarls from walkers as they shared secrets. Kirsten thought it was girly and cliche, but she didn't mind being taken back to the good old days where people didn't eat each other.

She was just glad that she got to spend one more night with the girls before she left. She didn't want to tell them about it, though. Despite the fact that she liked these girls, if they tagged along, it'd just be too hard and suspicious. Food would be a constant worry, along with water. Shelter, noise, all of that stuff wouldn't be very easy to manage. She just couldn't risk it.

"Alright, you got me there." Natalie gives in, resting her hand on her stomach. "What about you, Kirsten? First kiss?"

The woman rolled her eyes, placing both of her hands behind her head, almost like a makeshift pillow made from her arms. Kirsten sighs, "Seventh grade, thirteen years old. I was at the police station my Dad worked at, and his officer buddy brought his son. I had a crush on him. He was about fourteen, the 'rebellious' type of kid. Even though his Dad was a cop..." She began trailing off, the remembrance of before the outbreak was really overwhelming her.

"Out with it, Kirsten." Vivian pressures.

"Anyway, they got called for an emergency and had to head out." She began to grin, "I can remember my Dad giving me a mean look while he spoke; "You keep your tongue inside your mouth, Kirsten. If I hear anything about you two even holding hands, I _will _lock you in a cell for the night, you hear me?" He said before looking at the kid next to me. Not once have I ever seen a boy roll his eyes at my Dad, then immediately regret it."

Elena smiles, "So, did you guys kiss?" She asks, pushing her hair out of her face as she gazed up at the stars.

"Oh, of course we did. You think I was going to let my Daddy ruin my first kiss?" She sarcastically asks, "Nuh-uh, this wannabe rebellious thirteen year old didn't care was her Daddy said..." She clears her throat awkwardly, letting silence sink in a little as neither of the girls spoke a word. "...It was a very cold night in that cell, though." She chuckles, the three girls couple help but laugh at her humor. It was just so relieving to actually _hear _people laugh.

"You ever get down with a guy?" Natalie smirks, leaning on one of her arms as she sat up. _These questions were starting to get really personal... _Kirsten thought. "Or girl, whatever's your forte."

"I'd rather not answer that." She says in a formal manner, grinning as she looked back up at the stars.

Natalie and Elena look towards Vivian, almost like they were awaiting an answer from her. Vivian smirks, "She has."

"Vivian!" The trio of girls began to laugh again.

"Hey, you weren't hiding it as much. It was easy to dig for." She shrugs, grinning as Kirsten rolls her eyes.

She sighs, "Fine, yes, I have." She says through a laugh, "Now it's your turn, Vivian. Favourite color, first kiss, and- uh, are you a virgin?"

"Well, my favourite color is burgundy..." She paused for a moment, Vivian's grin was wiped clean from her face, as she uncomfortably cleared her throat while she pursed her lips. "It was Freshman year in high school, and he was a sophomore. He was your typical jock, a complete ass above most." She pauses, "And I really thought I was in love with him." The girls sat silently, they just knew this wasn't going to go anywhere good. "He said he liked me, too, at least that's what I thought. Then we dated, kissed, made out... and it didn't really go further than that... But, that's not what he told people."

Kirsten stopped her before she could continue, "You don't have to go on, Viv." She insists, shaking her head at the teenager. Vivian nods her head, agreeing not to go on. It must have been really bad, or really uncomfortable for her.

Silence filled the air, all the girls did was look up towards the sky and to the stars. Kirsten just forgot about stars, really. She forgot that they were even there, she payed little attention to them before, but now they seemed like the world to her. This night means everything to her for the fact of just relaxing and talking like how she'd talk before all of this. She really did feel like herself for the first time in two years.

* * *

It was the next day, and nightfall had come. _Finally, _it was time to leave. It started now, everything started now. After this, the only thing she'd need to worry about is her father, and that sounded like a piece of cake to her. Like father like daughter was what she went by growing up, and great minds always think alike. It was time that she headed North to find him.

"They didn't break it off that much," Kirsten observes the jagged edges of the broken steel on the ladder in the pen. To her, those jagged edges screamed out 'pain' or 'death'. Because damn, did it look like it. "If I can get a boost, I can climb the ladder and get the wrench down."

"You think that'll hold adults as heavy as us?" Pete asks, folding his arms as he tried to fixate his eyes on the rope.

"I've worked with it before, that wrench has held palettes of soil heavier than Luke and Nick put together." She informs the group, observing it a little more. They didn't have all that much time, Bonnie wouldn't be able to hold off those guards for hours on end, they needed to work fast. "And besides, there's not much of us anyway."

"Can we hurry this up please?" Rebecca presses, looking worryingly at Kirsten.

Reggie nods his head while he peeks through the gate, "Yeah, Bonnie's not exactly doing so good with the gua- Oh wait, no, there they go."

"Yeah, yeah." Kirsten nods her head, turning around to the group and eying Nick. "Nick, you're tall enough. Come give me a boost."

"You're pretty small, though. I don't think you'll be able to reach it." He admits, trying to hide a grin as she gives him a deadpan look.

She raises an eyebrow at him, as he suspiciously eyed her back. "Would you rather carry Luke's heavy ass up to the ladder then?" She asks, ignoring the slight glare from Luke.

"Hey!"

Nick sighs, "Alright, alright, I'm coming." He gives in, weaving through the small group of people to get to her. Once he did, he placed his hands on her waist and waited for her approval to lift her.

"Now whatever you do, don't let g- Ah!" Before she could even finish her sentence, Nick lifted her up with a grunt. "Nick!"

"Hurry up and grab the ladder, you're not as light at you look." He slyly remarks, grinning as she almost kicked him in the face. "Hey, I was kidding!" He pleads, lifting her up even further as she carefully and slowly poked her head through the entrance of the ladder. She placed her hands on the steps of it and pulled herself up, having Nick let go as she put her feet on the ladder.

Luke looked up at her as he unfolded his arms, "You good?"

Kirsten nods her head, "Yeah, I'm good." She announces, looking down at her feet before looking back up. She begins to climb the ladder at a steady pace, but fast enough not to waste time. She reaches the top and lands on the roof, crawling over to the wrench and grabbing the hook made of solid steel along with the other end of the rope. Ignoring the rust stains that now marked her hands, she crawled to the edge and found the loophole near the ladder.

"Kirsten, you've gotta hurry this up." Alvin pressures, looking up at her in worry with his arm around Rebecca as she puts the rope through the hole.

"I've got this, don't worry." She assures the group, pulling the rope down to the height of where Luke grabs it. She turns around and grabs the hook again, sliding it down with the rope in her hands until it reaches the ground. "There, Rebecca, you first." Kirsten insists, as Rebecca wearily nods her head and makes her way over to the wrench.

"You hold on tight, Rebecca, alright?" Pete insists, rubbing her shoulder as she nods. She takes a deep breath before Luke and Pete start to pull on the rope, Rebecca's figure rising with the hook as they continue to pull.

As Rebecca came close to the top, she grabbed onto the barricade of the ladder and took the small climb to the very top. Kirsten held out her hands and assisted Rebecca while she climbed onto the roof.

"Thank you." Rebecca smiles, still a wave of worry and fear wash over her.

Kirsten placed her hand on Rebecca's shoulder as she consoled her, "We're going to get out of here, don't worry." She smiles at her while shaking her head, "We'll never come back."

* * *

As Luke reached the top of roof last, Nick gave him a hand along with Pete. Reggie looked around concernly, leading the group to the ladder on the side of the building. Just like the one in the pen, it was broken half way. Although from the roof, it looked like a far jump from the ladder to the ground. But this one didn't have a barrier around it, it may or may not be easier for them to get down.

Kirsten looked down at the ground, it looked so clear without any barriers around. It looked so freeing, she felt like a sheep finally being able to run around and away from the pen. She loved this, but she had to be serious. She had to be on her game

"Just down here, be careful though." Reggie insists, pointing down towards the ladder. "The jump is far away from the ground, and you should definitely watch out for the pointy parts of the ladder."

Kirsten nods her head, looking up at Luke and Nick. "You guys wanna go first? You'll be able to catch anyone who falls." She asks, before Reggie immediately denies.

"No need, guys." He insists, "You can tie the rope around yourselves and around the top of the ladder. We had to do that when we had to break the ladder off in the first place..." He awkwardly scratches the back of his head.

Carlos agrees with a nod of his head, "I think that's a good idea. I don't want Sarah to fall without a proper harness." He says, clutching onto his daughter as she looks around warily.

Kirsten walks over to the wrench and pulls the rope out of the loop hole, dragging it back up from the ground. She grabs the hook with one hand and stands on the rope with her foot to make the rope tighter and easier to cut. She grabs the knife out of her holster and whacks at rope once, separating the hook from the rope, she drops it to the ground.

"Who's going first?" Pete asks, placing his hands on his hips.

"I still want to be sure that no one falls, so Luke and Nick go first." Kirsten replies, insisting as she walks over to the ladder and ties the rope to the first step.

Luke nods, "Good idea, but we gotta hurry this up. I don't think Bonnie'll be able to pawn them off for much longer." He informs, grabbing the first step of the ladder as he begins to make is way down.

"Woah, wait. What about the rope?" Kirsten asks, the end of the rope falling limply to the side as it sat in her hand.

Luke glanced up at her momentarily before he continued to climb down, "Don't need it."

Nick scoffed as he rolled his eyes, taking the rope that Kirsten hands him and tying it around his waist. "Better not break your legs then, man." He chirps, grabbing the top of the ladder and spinning himself around as he begins to climb down.

Kirsten watched on as Luke jumped down from the ladder, and he landed completely fine. The rope was still the main utencil, though. Rebecca would _not _be able to jump that far down with a baby in her stomach. "Nice job, farmboy. But stick to the plan next time." She smirks, looking down at him as he bit his bottom lip in an attempt to hide a grin. "So, who's going next?"

Carlos insisted that Sarah went down first and that Luke and Nick made sure she was protected. In which she was, Kirsten understood the overprotectiveness, she just didn't agree with it.

After Sarah, Carlos went down. Followed by Alvin, then Rebecca, then Pete, and finally, Kirsten. She decided to wrap the rope around her waist tightly before beginning to climb.

"Hey, I'm really going to miss you guys when you're gone." Reggie frowns, looking down at Kirsten as she continued to climb.

She glanced up at Reggie, "You can come with us, you know?"

He shrugged, "Yeah, but I just-" Reggie cut himself off mid-sentence, his eyes catching the door on the roof bust open with a ton of guards piling onto it. "Kirsten, they're coming!" He alerts her, his eyes widening.

Kirsten panicked for a moment, right now she was dangling in the air. The rope got caught on the higher broken part of the ladder, making the rope way too short than it actually was. "Reggie, there's no time! You need to come with us!"

"I- I..." Reggie stutters as Kirsten tried to pull the rope off the broken steel. "I can't!"

She groaned, looking down to the ground to see Luke pressuring her to hurry up. "Luke, catch me!" She shouts out to him as he agrees, pulling the knife out of her holster and slashing at the rope. She fell through the air, back first, in what felt like she jumped off a skyscraper. She was worried for a very short while, until she felt Luke's arms underneath her. She opened her eyes, even though she didn't really know they were closed, and breathed out a sigh of relief.

He placed her on her feet and gave her an assuring smile before latching onto her hand and pulling her along, the rope was still tied around her waist and a bit of extra rope was coming out of the knot. Bullets starting to bombard around the group as they ran, luckily, no one got shot. She placed the knife under the rope around her stomach and cut it off, freeingly throwing it to the side as her vision became dark with the depths of the woods.

* * *

Well, they made it. They were finally at Parker's Run after hours of searching, Kirsten was just glad that she gets to rest, and more importantly, that she got out of that place. The group quietly looked around at the atmosphere, it was like a wrecking ball just flew into this place.

Sarah yawned as she took her red-framed glasses off and rubbed her eyes, "Dad, is there a place we can sleep?" She sheepishly asks, tugging on her fathers sleeve as he walked up to the information board.

The group followed him and scanned their eyes along maps and other informational papers that were pinned to the board.

"What do y'all see?" Luke asks, fixating his eyes on one of the flyers.

Alvin managed to somehow see in the dark, "There's an observation deck just around the corner."

"And... a museum around a mile from here." Carlos adds, looking over to Luke.

"Looks like that observation deck is our best shot," Pete insists, "We can stay there for the night and head off in the morning, find a better place to sleep than this dump."

Kirsten nods her head, "Agreed."

* * *

After a small two minute walk, the group got comfortable at the observation deck. One of the gates were completely locked, there was no way they were getting in there. The second gate, which wasn't locked, had to do. Kirsten ran her fingers through her fringe as she let out a breath of exhaustion, leaning up against the wall with her knees up.

"You know, normal people usually go to sleep when they're exhausted." Pete's voice quietly escalates, shuffling over to sit next to her as he joined her in leaning against the wall.

Kirsten shrugs, "I guess I'm not normal." She mutters, keeping her voice low so she didn't wake anybody up. She glanced over to Luke who was out cold, just like everyone else. Kirsten decided it was best if she stayed awake and kept watch, who knows what or who will sneak up on her or the group.

"Tell me something, Kirsten." Pete begins, "Where are your family? Close friends? Weren't you with them when this happened?" He asks, looking over to her as she kept her head down. "I don't mean to pry or make you uncomfortable, I just feel like a deer in headlights not knowing anythin' about you."

She paused for a moment, looking at her twiddling fingers before she decided to answer. "If I was honest with you, I've got no clue where anybody is." She admits, looking over to him as one side of her lips pull into a corner. "My sister's dead. My mom died before all of this, and my Dad is God knows where."

Pete places his hand on her shoulder in an attempt of comfort, "Well, I'm sorry to hear that, dear." He consoles, earning a small nod from her as he takes his hand away. "What about your Aunt's? Or your Uncle's and Cousin's?" He quietly asks.

She shrugs in response, a small pout of her lip. "Probably dead or lost somewhere." She bluntly replies, rolling her head against the wall.

Pete scrutinized the girl for a moment, he then sighs, shaking his head in the process. "God, I miss my sister." He blurts out, resulting in Kirsten not even budging an eye at him. She could feel herself being insensitive, but she just didn't stop it. She glanced over at Nick's sleeping figure, who so happened to accidentally cuddle up to Luke. _I'm calling it, _She thought to herself humorously. "I miss her so goddamn much." He buried his head into his hand while shaking it depressingly.

Kirsten lightly nodded her head, "I know you do. I'm sorry about what happened." She attempts to console the older man, naturally not being all that great at it. She'd think that after two years of seeing people lose their loves ones, she would grow accustomed to it and almost be like a professional. Only to prove herself wrong.

Pete took his head away from his hands and gave the girl a reassuring nod, "You should get some sleep. I'll keep watch." He insists.

"Are you sure?"

Pete nodded, "I'm completely positive."

Kirsten gave a brief sigh before standing up, "Thank you."


	6. Long Roads and Safe Havens

**A/N: Hi! Hope you enjoyed the last chapter. To recap: Luke had his injuries checked over, Kirsten, Elena, Vivian and Natalie had girly moments on the roof at Howe's, they succeeded in their escape plan, they spent the night at the observation deck at Parker's Run.**

**So, I am totally going to be doing review mentions like I did for a short while in the original story (now going to be called 'honourable mentions'). It's more of a reward for sticking with me and reviewing in general. So don't be afraid to leave your review with the possibility of being one of the three mentioned!**

**This is a bit of a filler chapter, but I've made it worth your while since there's fluff. Very fluffy fluff. Well, it's just Luke being- Okay, you know what? You can see for yourself, I won't spoil you.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Kirsten's eyes scanned across the information board as her finger glided along it. Unlike yesterday, daylight was an assistance to her visual needs. Luke folded his arms and leaned against the bored as he waited for her to speak up, to give him at least one bit of information about what she was reading and why.

Luke audibly cleared his throat, raising his eyebrows at the woman as she paid little attention to him. "What are you looking for?" He flatly asks, his voice still heavy with sleep as he just woke up when she kicked him awake. Carlos insisted that she didn't go alone to check the board, and Luke was the closest person next to her. Well, let's be real. He was on the other side of the room, and she just wanted to annoy him.

"I'm trying to see if this map shows the surroundings of the site, and if it does, what places it shows." She replies, her eyes and half of her attention focused on the board.

Luke's eyes widen, clearly impressed. "That's... actually a smart idea."

"Yeah, I know." She smirks, scoffing in the process. "So uncommon to do a smart thing." She sarcastically remarks, pulling a face as she still smirked.

Luke smacked his lips and gave the woman an eyeroll, "Alright, alright. No need to be sarcastic and what not." He insists, leaning his head against the board as he tried his best to force his eyelids open.

"Hmm," She hums, "Wait, we shouldn't find a place nearby. If that asshole's coming for us, which I'm pretty sure he is, then it's not a good idea to be in arms reach." She speculates, placing a hand on her hip before turning around to face Luke, and mimicking him by leaning on the board.

Luke nods his head sheepishly, "Good idea," He says, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands, "But can I go back to sleep now? You woke me up pretty damn early, and I'd like to get _some _sleep before the group comes over he-"

"Did you find a place, Kirsten?" Carlos' voice startled Luke as it alerted Kirsten, resulting in the girl shaking her head in response.

"It's probably not a good idea to be this close to his camp, anyway." She insists, informing the rest of the group as they pile up to the information board.

Sarah yawned, rubbing her eyes as she slightly stumbled. "Dad, do we have to wake up so early? I want to go back to sleep." She whines, looking up at the man as he looked down at her.

"We have to, sweetie." He replies, "We need to get a move on." Carlos gazed around the group, making sure all of the members were present and ready to go. "Is Luke ready to leave?" Carlos asks, placing his hands on his hips.

Nick watched on as Luke groaned, Nick nudged him to get off the information board but in return, Luke swatted his hand at his best friend. Nick rolled his blue eyes as Kirsten and held back a grin, "Yeah, he's good to go."

* * *

Eleven long hours of being on the move with only ten minutes of catching their breath, they finally decided to take a longer break. Kirsten slumped down onto a nearby log as she ran her fingers through her fringe, she was proud of the distance the group made. They were far away from Carver's camp and she was grateful for it. She just needed to get them to a safe haven before going her separate ways to find her Dad. Although, she wasn't one-hundred percent on that decision. Whenever she thought about leaving the group, she thought about Luke. Then this awful yet exciting feeling in the bottom of her gut stunned her and she'd just stare at him.

Kirsten wasn't an idiot.

She knew what the feeling was, but she immediately denied it. Pushed it to the back of her mind. She didn't want to wake him up this morning to annoy him, but to be alone with him. And she couldn't resist these small things, not until reality hit her. In this world, caring for someone or looking after them was only good for one thing. _Getting you killed. _The situation with Claire wasn't exactly like that, but it was very close and someone died. And Kirsten can sometimes never forgive herself.

Before she knew it, Luke had sat down next to her. She gave out a breath and thought to herself; _Don't screw up, got it? _She mentally agreed, looking at him with a small smile.

"Long day, huh?" Luke attempts conversation, taking a sip from his water bottle that he managed to grab from the camp.

Kirsten nods her head, "We've made distance. And it took almost twelve hours. It's been a _really _long day." She sheepishly replies, hanging her head down low in exhaustion. "I'm just tired. We need to set up camp soon or I'm going to collapse."

"You can collapse on me."

Kirsten glanced up at Luke with a small glare, although she was trying her very hardest not to grin, and she was succeeding.

Luke bit on his bottom lip in regret, "...Or not. Whatever you like." He cautiously shrugs, untensing once he sees her finally grin. He smiled at her as she looked back down to the ground with the grin wiped clean from her face. She felt like if she gave Luke the slightest bit of affection, that she'd somehow end up with a bullet in her throat. "You okay?" He quietly asks, her eyes looking back up at him as she sat up again.

"Just tired, remember?" She quickly dismisses him, pursing her lips together as she eyes a smiling Sarah.

Luke places his hand briefly on her shoulder before standing up, she took a small breath in and looked up at him. "We'll get some rest soon, alright?"

Kirsten nodded, the bittersweet feel of Luke's hand leaving her shoulder almost stunned her. She watched as Luke made his way over to Nick and Pete, and a confused Sarah walking over to her.

Sarah sat down next to Kirsten with a brief smile, "Hi." She quietly yet suspiciously greets.

"Hey, Sarah." Kirsten smiles, looking side-ways at the teenager as she looked a little anxious. _  
_

"So- um, I have a question." Sarah admits, tapping her foot on the ground as she looks around at the atmosphere. "About Luke."

Kirsten scrutinized Sarah for a brief moment before speaking, "Go on." She muses. _Oh, this is going to be good... _She thought to herself.

Sarah looked back over to Kirsten with a tilt of her head, "Why are you guys always looking at each other so funny?" She asks, her rather naive nature really did catch Kirsten off guard sometimes.

Kirsten raised her eyebrows at the teenager in confusion as she huffed, "What are you talking about?" She suspiciously asks. Had Kirsten been staring at...? No. She would have stopped herself. And she would have noticed him. _The hell is she on about? _

"Every time you're at the front of the group, he stares at you. And every time _he's _at the front of the group, you stare at _him_." She grins, rendering Kirsten speechless. The older woman opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She had no damn clue what to say. "I asked my Dad why you guys kept doing it, but he said he would tell me when I'm older." Oh great, so Carlos has figured something that Kirsten didn't?

Kirsten glanced around at the scattered group before placing her hand on Sarah's shoulder and ushering her over to her Dad. "Uh- S-Sarah, go to your Dad. He must be worried sick."

Sarah pouted as she looked up at Kirsten in confusion, "What? I'm right here, he can see m-"

"Quick, go on, Sarah. Go, go, go." Kirsten quickly ushers, as Sarah makes her way back to her father with a dumbfounded look on her face.

After Sarah wondered back to her father, Kirsten made rules with herself. _No looking, no smiling, no touching- Definitely no touching, and no affection. _She strictly thought. If she was going to get through this, she needed to set heavy boundaries, barriers and barricades. This _couldn't _affect her. This _won't _affect her. Maybe the decision to leave was a good idea after all.

Kirsten raised her head to set eyes on a worried Rebecca coming her way, clutching on her stomach with pain stricken in her face. Once Rebecca got close enough, she grabbed her hand and gently pulled the woman down to sit on the log. "Are you alright?" She concernly asks, placing a hand on Rebecca's back in comfort.

"She's just been kicking a lot for the past hour." Rebecca painfully smiles, keeping her eyes laid on her stomach as her hands joined them.

"_She?_"

Rebecca grins as she looks up at Kirsten, "Oh, I'm one-hundred percent positive that it's a girl. Alvin thinks it's going to be boy, he's so wrong about these things." She chuckles, as Kirsten couldn't help but gleam a happy smile at her.

Kirsten paused for a moment before patting Rebecca on the back, "I don't know how you do it, Rebecca." The older woman glanced up at Kirsten in confusion, "You must be a pretty strong woman to carry a baby around in the apocalypse. I don't think most women could ever do that. I definitely couldn't." She admits, "And I've got a feeling that it's Alvin's baby."

Rebecca smiles, pausing as she looked up at Kirsten with the slightest of glossy tears in her eyes. Pregnancy hormones, huh? "I'm glad you're with us, Kirsten. I've got no idea what we'd do without you."

_Well that was a punch to the stomach._

Kirsten looked down to the ground in concern, before forcing a smile. "You'll be fine without me. I promise."

Rebecca looked at her in slight confusion, thinking that Kirsten meant something by it. She went to open her mouth to protest, but Carlos' loud voice interrupted.

"Sarah, I told you to stay put." He scolds his daughter as she rushes away from one of the trees and up to Carlos in excitement.

Sarah smiled up at her father as she ignored his scolding, "Dad, I found something!" She exclaims. The group turn their heads to the teenager dragging her father by the hand and over to the tree. "It's huge and dark!"

Pete, Nick and Luke rushed over to the tree as Alvin walked over to Rebecca. Kirsten took it as a 'she's okay with me' kind of gesture and stood up, following the group over to where Sarah was aimlessly pointing.

"Is that a house?" Carlos asks, scrutinizing the building.

Pete shook his head, "That's a cabin, doc. But good try." He slyly remarks, smirking as Carlos shook off the comment. Nick and Luke huffed a laugh as Sarah grinned, an unamused Kirsten used her hand to push leaves away to get a better view.

Kirsten smirked to herself, "What are the chances of this?" She exclaims.

Nick scoffed, "Screw chances. Let's go see if it's lurker free." He suggests.

"Or people free." Carlos adds, "What are we going to do if that cabin is occupied?" Carlos was right, what was the group going to do if people were inside? Or worse, cold-blooded murders, bandits, or complete assholes?

"It's not like we're going to barge through the doors. We knock, let whoever- or whatever, come our way, and we deal with it from there." Kirsten plans out, earning an agreeing nod from Pete.

Luke hums, "And what if they don't open the door?" He asks.

"We tell them that we're heavily armed, even though we aren't, but we don't mean any harm." She replies, "And no, I didn't mean for that to rhyme." She grins, looking down to the ground as she slightly mumbles.

Luke sighs, "Good as plan as any."

* * *

The wooden floor creaked under her steps, her head shot at any direction that made the slightest of noise as she gripped her knife very tightly. Luke, Nick and Pete were downstairs and checking the rooms while she decided to adventure off upstairs once she heard banging noises. Luke offered to go up with her, but of course, she immediately denied and said that she'd be careful. And she was. She wasn't an idiot, she survived this long, didn't she?

She pressed her ear up against the door that she previously heard noises from and waited, waited for any sounds of movement or objects. But she didn't hear any of that, she heard laughing. _Laughing? _No, she must be hearing things. There's no way she could hear laughing.

Holding her knife even tighter than before, she placed her hand on the door knob and slowly opened it. The laughing abruptly stopped as the door creaked, and it was incredible silent after it fully opened. She looked over to the door, slowly lifting her hand as she balled her fist and banged on the door three times.

Kirsten was relieved when she heard a snarl and saw a figure scratching at the window. It's tattered and bloody clothes illuminated from the moonlight when it turned around and noticed the girl, stumbling towards her like every other one she's ever seen. She just couldn't believe that she was hearing things. That had never happened before, and it scared her deeply.

Kirsten made her way up to the snarling corpse and kicked its knee back, the now deformed limb almost looked normal with the rest of the walker. As it wailed, she dug her knife into its skull and twirled her wrist. Its blood flicked onto her shirt as she yanked her weapon out, the now fully dead corpse tumbled to the floor as she looked down at it.

She glanced around the room before walking back to the door, keeping her eyes on the surroundings of the room before bumping into something. "Oh, fuck..." She gasps, placing her hand on her forehead as an upcoming Luke bursted out in laughter. She bumped into the doorframe. Great. "Hey, don't laugh. That really hurt." She pouted, as Luke covered his mouth with his hand and grinned, trying his best not to laugh as she glared at him.

"Okay, but that was pretty funny though." He replies through his struggle of not laughing.

She narrowed her eyes at the older man and grinned, still rubbing her forehead to dull the pain. "Funny like that time I slammed your back into a door?" She teases.

"Hey- no- that's uncalled for."

Kirsten grinned, "Sure it is."

* * *

**A/N: Well, there goes that chapter! I hope you really enjoyed it, this was written over five days due to my inconsistency and writers block. Sigh.**

**Don't forget to leave your reviews for the chance to be in the honourable mentions! The reviews will really help and don't be afraid to critique, critique, critique!**

**Have a very Merry Christmas if you celebrate it, Relaxing holidays if you don't, and a Happy New Year!**


	7. The Unfair Hand

**A/N: Happy new year! Sorry for the late chapter, I was sleeping over at a cousin's. It's a bit of a filler chapter, but there's a reason why at the end author's note and sort of in the story. But as soon as this is posted, I will start the next chapter to give it to you guys quicker! I promise!**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Kirsten, although partially awake in the slightest, enjoys her warm and cozy slumber. Nothing can wake her up at all, nuh-uh. Not Nick making cheeky remarks about how she can whip someone with her hair, not Pete asking her to fill the water canteens, not Alvin fussing with Sarah over juice boxes, nope. Not even Rebecca going into labour. Okay, that last one is a lie and she's over exaggerating. But she's so peaceful, nothing can wake her.

Not one, little, thing.

Maybe besides the droplets of water dripping on to her face.

_Damn rain, _she hisses in her head, wiping her face with the sheet covers. _Wait, sheet covers? _Kirsten springs up from her bed to see an angsty Sarah, biting her bottom lip in an attempt to hold back a grin while flicking her finger tips at Kirsten.

Kirsten grabs Sarah's hands and looks up at her groggily, "Sarah," She flatly says, "What are you doing?" She asks, slowly letting go of her hands as she looks down at Kirsten with startle.

Sarah wipes her hands on her blue jacket and looks back down at Kirsten, giving her a small grin. "There's water in the pipes. Pete said it was connected to the stream we passed." She exclaims, balling her fists under her chin and bouncing off her heels in excitement.

"Hey, that's neat." Kirsten gives the teenager a smile before pulling the sheets off herself, swinging her legs around the side as she stands up and yawns. "Is everyone else awake?" She asks, wiping her eyes as Sarah nods her head.

"Rebecca's still sleeping. Alvin said not to wake her because she'll be as "grumpy as a bear" if I do." Sarah confusedly say, tilting her head sideways as she looks to the floorboards.

"Yeah," Kirsten nods her head, "that wouldn't be a smart move."

"Anyway," Sarah muses, "breakfast is waiting! Race you there!" She childishly giggles, running straight to the doorway of Kirsten's room.

Kirsten quickly runs up to the teenage while calling her name, "Sarah, wait." She places her hand on the girls shoulder as she stops, slyly smirking at the confused girl. "If this is a race, then I'm totally going to kick your ass." And with that, she runs forward, leaving a determined Sarah trailing behind her. Her feet patter against the stairs as she rushes down them, almost slipping on the floorboards at the very bottom because of her socks. She briefly gasps, muttering curses before regaining her balance.

Sarah and Kirsten sprint across the lounge room and burst into the kitchen in a childish manner, giggling and laughing at themselves as the group stared at them surprisingly. Luke was just amazed that she was doing something other than be a sarcastic survivalist, she was genuinely having fun with Sarah. He doesn't really realize it, but he's smiling.

Kirsten sets her eyes on the group before giving an awkward grin, "Heh- uh- Sorry." She scratches the back of her head, "Good morning." She greets, watching Sarah stand up straight and smile at her Dad.

"Sarah, I told you not to run in the cabin." Carlos warns his daughter sterly, placing his spoon into his bowl as he gave her the slightest of daggering eyes.

"S-Sorry, Dad. I was just getting Kirsten to come and eat. I won't do it again." She frowns, looking up at her caretaker through her eyelashes as she walks over to the huge, wooden dining table. Kirsten adores the cozy feel to the cabin, it's welcoming. But her guard still isn't down and she's just as cautious in the cabin as she is in the woods.

Carlos encourages his daughter to sit down and finish her food, along with Kirsten who has the hapless position of sitting in between Luke and Nick. Just her luck.

"Now that we're all here, we've got to talk about what we're going to be doin' here." Pete advises, looking around at the group sternly as he takes a spoonful of what Kirsten finds out to be very watery oatmeal. _Better than nothing, _She shrugs.

"This can't be just a one night thing, right?" Alvin worries, "I'm not exactly sure how much Bec can go on with that baby."

Kirsten takes a spoonful of the watery oatmeal as she glances at Alvin, "Well, we can't stay here forever. But we don't exactly need to leave _now. _Carver could be following us or sending his guards after us. I'm not saying we haven't made distance from his camp, because we have, it's just that he could have been following us the entire way."

"But we were careful. We scoped around and made sure we didn't leave any obvious tracks." Luke responds.

"That _could _of slow him down." Alvin muses, tilting his head to the side with a pout of his bottom lip. "And even if he was following us, why wouldn't he have just caught us while we were on the move?"

"He might've not had the numbers." Carlos replies, "But he's smart. He wouldn't leave without numbers unless he had something up his sleeve."

Kirsten didn't doubt Carlos, but she definitely didn't think Carver is _that _smart. They escaped, didn't they? They got out of there alive. Breathing. Blood in their veins. Blood in their hearts. If Carver is as smart as he's intended to be, then she wouldn't be sitting in a cozy cabin with food in her bowl.

She doesn't realize it, but she zones out as she eats her food. Once she zones back in, she realizes they're talking about an escape plan.

"So we go North?" Nick asks, earning a determined nod from his uncle.

"North?" Kirsten muses, "Like Wellington?"

"The hell's that?" Rebecca asks, barging through the kitchen door as her tone is sharp but curious. And still full of sleep. Kirsten learnt to shrug off any hostility by the women due to the pregnancy, it's almost like a professional sport and she is its gold medalist.

"People say there's a sanctuary in Wellington, apparently the cold slows the biters down." She answers.

Luke's eyes widen in surprise, he never thought of that. With the cold slowing down the lurkers, they wouldn't be as much as a threat. And with the sanctuary, they'd finally be at peace with no worries... Besides the worry of there not being a sanctuary. But there'd be a place "And even if there isn't a sanctuary, we can find a place and not have to deal with the lurkers as much. Right?"

Although Kirsten really thinks it's just another pipedream, she really doesn't have anything to lose. Up in the cold, it slows the biters down. That's handy, and like this cabin, there's bound to be somewhere they can stay. It was a win-win situation. Not to mention possibly finding her father. "Uh- right. Yeah." She quickly nods, taking in another spoonful as the group continues to chat about the plan.

* * *

It was late afternoon and the sky illuminated a pink-orange color into cabin through the windows. Kirsten sat alone on the couch in the loungeroom, digging into a book that Sarah found for her in her room. It was a series collection of _The Gurgles, _a book about transdimensional body-somethings... something like that. It's all she can really do, nothing was happening around the cabin. She was just used to killing biters all the time.

And at least it took her mind off Luke and the whole 'feelings' nonsense she was debating with herself in her head. She feels like she needs to get away as soon as possible, but at the same time, she felt like embracing it. _God, _she felt so corny with all these dumb feelings while people-munching-corpses want to kill them all.

Kirsten shook the thoughts out of her head and closed the book. She stood up, placed the book on the table and let out a relaxing breath. She figured that if she wanted to pass time, she could go upstairs and look through the drawers for anything useful.

* * *

Kirsten swung her door open to the squirms and rattles coming from under her bed. She looks down at the familiar pair of wailing legs with a raised eyebrow, giving a little scoff at the humorous sight.

She walks over to the pair of legs and grabs them by the ankles, sliding them out, Sarah glides along the floor with a board game in her arms. Kirsten drops her legs and places her hand on her hip, "Okay, why are you under my bed?" She flatly asks.

Sarah looks over her shoulder and to the older woman before rearing up on her knees and grabbing the board game fully. "I got bored and tried to find something to do. I hope you don't mind me coming in here. I- I'm sorry if you do." She sadly looks towards the ground as Kirsten shakes her head.

"No, no. You're good. What'cha got there?" She asks, smiling.

"Rebecca asked me to find something that we could play with since she couldn't play hide and seek." She shrugs. Kirsten eyes the board game closer but thinks nothing of it.

Kirsten nods her head, "That's cool." She admits, as silence then swept in between the two. She always found herself wondering how Sarah had made it this long without killing anything. And why the hell Carlos chooses to keep her away from weapons, which brought her to the conclusion of grabbing the board game out of Sarah's hands and placing it down on the ground. "We're skipping the games for today. I need to show you something."

Sarah confusedly looks up at the older girl before she's grabbed by the wrist and pulled out of the room, the two make their way downstairs and to the kitchen where Rebecca and Alvin sit.

"What's the rush, Kirsten?" Alvin asks, a much more cheery smile on his face than the forced ones he pulled.

"Just showing Sarah something. You guys don't need to worry." She replies before pushing herself and Sarah out of the door.

"Um- M- My Dad doesn't like me being out here. Maybe we should go back inside?" Sarah frets, as Kirsten leads her to a close tree by the cabin.

Kirsten finally lets go of Sarah's hand and places her own on the knife in her holster, "Hey, relax. I'll keep you safe. I just want you to know how to use this so if you ever get in a jam, you can protect yourself." Kirsten grabs Sarah's hand and softly places it in there.

"A weapon? No, no, no. I- I can't, really. My Dad will get angry if I even look at one of these." Sarah shakes her head vigorously before thrusting it Kirsten's way, but she immediately denies.

"Well, your Dad isn't here and he told me to take care of you until he comes back." She says sternly, denying the knife and pushing it back Sarah's way. "Come on, it's not like he's going to find out. Even Luke would agree that you need to learn about this stuff."

Sarah's fearful look turns to curiosity when she mentions Luke, but immediately goes back when she looks down at the knife. "My Dad's not gonna like this..." She warns, as Kirsten grabs her shoulders and spins her to face the tree.

Kirsten points to a bare spot on the tree, like a piece of bark chipped off. "Alright, right here. That's the predators head, that's where we're aiming for." She says, moving closer to Sarah and rearranging the knife in her hand. "You just lift it up, place your hand on the tree, and dig into it."

Sarah nods her head uncertainly and insecurely, taking a step forward as Kirsten steps back. She places her hand on the tree lightly and pin-pricks the tree with the knife tip, looking back at Kirsten as if she was waiting further instruction.

"More power." She instructs.

Sarah takes the knife out of the tree and brings her arm back, pushing it back into tree to the point where it's loosely dug in. She glances back at Kirsten who shakes her head.

"Nope, more force."

Sarah mimics her movement earlier and uses more force, she looks back at Kirsten with a small frown. "Kirsten, I don't like this..." She whines, sloping her shoulders down.

Kirsten furrows her eyebrows as she folds her arms, "I don't like doing it as much as you do, Sarah. This isn't something I chose to do, it's something I _need_ to do." She softly admits, "We need to grow up or we'll die, there aren't any other choices in this world. Doing this saves _your _life, it saves your_ Dad's _life. And as much as we don't want to do it, we just need to play the cards we're dealt with."

Sarah pulls the knife out of the tree and looks over to Kirsten, "You say it like it's easy."

Kirsten left out a breath, "It's never easy now, all we get is hard. But that isn't going to stop me from letting you do this alone."

Sarah fiddles her thumbs with the knife in her hand, looking down quietly before glancing at Kirsten through her lashes. "Were you alone this whole time?" She meekly asks.

Kirsten clears her throat before unfolding her arms, "Well, no. I was with my sister, and uh- people came and went. But you just kinda get used to it." She shrugs, "Weren't you and your Dad with anyone?"

"Um- I'm not really sure. It's been such a long time, I've lost count of the days. I used to count them a lot." She confesses, shrugging. "Do we have to continue you this now? My Dad might be back soon." She worries, looking around at her surroundings before handing Kirsten her knife.

"Just a little more, Sarah." She grins, "We'll get ready to book when we see him."

* * *

**A/N: ****IMPORTANT****:**** I am going to make chapters longer after this one! And I want you to critique the hell out of them so I can make this fanfiction a whole lot better! Even address the bits you'd like to discuss! I'm also going to introduce small POV changes so nothing seems boring and there's no filler bits. Trust me! You'll like them. Hopefully.**

**Now that Kirsten is at the cabin, you guys need to definitely leave your suggestions on what should happen! I went over the original story and she doesn't really do anything that great other than the flirting with Luke, but that doesn't really fit in the new story nor with her character. So, go ahead and give me some ideas! I have literally nothing and I want to incorporate as much fan ideas that I can when I need them!**

**But now it's time! Drum roll, please? ****Kidding, drum rolls are gross.**

**It's our first honourable mentions!**

**_woo_**

**But anyway, onto the honourable mentions:**

**Reystro: **So I went to check if this had been updated (after months from being away from FF), and I'm shocked to see you've started totally rewriting it! I'm honestly considering doing the same for my fanfic, because I'm so stuck from where I left myself at.

Anyway, not that I didn't love the original version - but this is just so awesome. Your writing has improved so dramatically. I love the riddance of one-liners, and I love how much more descriptive this is. This definitely gave me a better picture of the scene.

I wanted to leave a review of my first overall impression before I continued on :)

**Well, to begin; Welcome back one of my favourite long time reviewers! Thank you so much for the support and criticism you've given me whenever you've come onto the site, you're a very fantastic writer and your story is great! You can rewrite it if you want to, I'll always read it either way. I'm glad you love the new and improved version (if I'm honest, I think I do too) and I'm so grateful that you can now get a better picture of everyone/thing. Thanks for the review!**

**XxClemClemxX: **"You can collapse on me"? Lol good job, Luke. But anyways, nice filler chapter! I especially love the moment that Sarah and Kirsten had together, very humorous! This chapter brings out a little idea of how Kirsten and Luke are starting to form a closer bond, as much as Kirsten doesn't want to. Keep up the good work :)

**Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! And don't worry, we'll be seeing Vivian back at the camp again in later chapters. (Not sure if that was a spoiler for others, but I mean, it's pretty obvious since we go back to Carver's in Episode 3) Anyway, I'm glad I made you laugh or giggle even just a little bit. Thanks for the review!**

**Gingerman454: **I think you're doing great. And I don't care if this chapter is five days due I'll wait a year for the next chapter of this (amazing) story ( but please be quicker than that ). Keep up the good work :)

**Haha, thank you! I'm very grateful to see dedicated fans, it makes me so happy to see you're enjoying the story. And don't worry, I won't take a year to update, haha. Thanks for the review!**

**Great! Now with those out of the way, you can leave a review and have a chance to be honourably mentioned! Roll credits.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	8. Catalysts

**A/N: It's a very close time for a certain character to appear! *cough* Clementine *cough.* And since she's entering, I want to ask you: Should Clementine be 11 or 15? I really want you guys' input on what her age should be, and her being 15 will change up most of her dialogue and whatnot. And thank you Gingerman454 for a great idea to fill in the chapters! Thanks, bud!**

**There's a little bit of huzzah in this chapter (which is longer, you're welcome), so I hope it's an interesting read. Sorry for not update quick like I said, I'll definitely be starting the next chapter after updating.**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"And the fourth pistol?"

Kirsten was getting that choked up feeling again, she can feel something warm burning in the pit of her chest and getting caught in her throat. "I- I... don't..." She glances up at Luke momentarily before clearing her throat. "Um- Sorry... It- It's here somewhere." Her eyes hungrily scan the table full of weapons in an attempt to shake of that damn feeling again, but she didn't see the fourth pistol.

A few days passed since she started reading the books Sarah found, she's on the third book while Sarah is still on her second. She found it easier to read in the loungeroom since one of the windows granted her with enough light when they needed to blow out the candles. Luke would _sometimes _join her, but she'd use the excuse that she was tired only shortly after reading a little bit, just to make sure nothing boiled up between the two. Which... sort of failed.

Kirsten pats down her pockets to feel if she had it on her, and just to her luck, it was in the back of her pants. "Yeah, I- I have it." She nervously laughs, pulling it out and placing it on the table.

Luke looks at her suspiciously, "Are you... alright?" He asks, leaning his hand on the table.

_No, no, no... _"Get off my back, farmboy. I'm completely fine. There's nothing to worry about." She replies in a harsh manner, looking down at the weapons on the table with folded arms. She knew being defensive wasn't quite hitting the spot, but she was worried. She was so, _so _worried about what she'd say next. Everything was on the edge of her tongue and she tried to swallow it down, but it would just stay there. _Stupid annoying feelings._

Luke holds his hands up defensively before looking at her in the smallest amount of shock, "That's a hell of a thing to say." He mutters, giving her the slightest of smiles.

She glances up at him for a small moment before letting out a breath, "I'm sorry, I- I didn't mean it like that." She apologizes, unfolding her arms uncomfortably. Kirsten sighs, "We're done here, right?" she asks.

Luke cautiously nods, she gives him a chaste smile before exiting out of the kitchen. He shakes his head as he lets out an audible exhale and starts grabbing the weapons to put them back in the box.

"Hell's wrong with her?" Nick asks, coming into the kitchen with a jerk of his thumb. "You piss her off with your undying love for her?" He smirks, joining Luke at the kitchen table with his hands on his hips.

"Shut up, man." He hisses, "I didn't do anything, she's been like that for a couple'a days now." He states, grabbing the pistols and throwing them into the box.

Nick takes off his hat and runs his fingers through his black hair, "Any reason why? What even happened?" He asks, pulling up a chair and slumping down onto it.

Luke shrugs as his voice escalates, "I don't know? She just started stuttering and getting nervous." He replies, "And don't say that shit so loud, I'll tell her in my own time."

Nick defensively holds up his hands, "Jesus, alright. I won't tell anyone about it then." Luke sighs in relief, finishing up with the weapons until Nick said something. "Not like it ain't noticeable..." He mutters with a sly smirk, resulting in Luke snatching Nick's hat and throwing it at him.

"Shut up."

* * *

Kirsten kicks the gravel under her feet as she walks, the quiet pair of Luke and Nick trail in front of her as they glance at their surroundings. Pete was supposed to join them on their scavenge for supplies, but had to fix the hole that led underneath the house after a biter somehow got down there. Sarah likes to go down the hatch to look for things, but she saw a biter. Carlos was furious and wanted to ban Sarah from going down there, but Pete insisted that he'd fix it so she could go down without being stuck in danger.

"There's a torn up tent over there." Nick announces, as the three of them roll up to an abandon camp zone. A rusty Volkswagen, shredded tents and brush covered the area.

Kirsten makes her way over to the Volkswagen as she speaks, "I've got the van." she informs. Mainly because there isn't much else to check, and she prefers doing things herself rather than letting Luke or Nick do it. She doesn't know their judgement or how much they know about supplies, but she knew one thing for sure.

There's nothing left in this world that's not hidden.

She scrambles through a box nearby the van only to see childrens toys. She lightly frowns as she pulls a toy out, she just couldn't stand looking at childrens possessions knowing that they've gone through a world of hurt just as everyone had. She shuts her eyes and sighs, tossing it back into the box and pushing it aside. She looks around inside the corroded van to see animal fur scattered across the carpet in the van along with the seats. She thought nothing of it and latched her hands onto a box.

She opens the flaps and is greeted by the smell of meat-deprived bones. She pulls a disgusted face as she crinkles her nose, her eyes soon widening at the cans underneath them. She lightly gasps as she grabs the bones and throws them aside, making a clearly path from her hand to the cans and snatching one. "Food..." She mutters, "Guys, I found food."

Luke and Nick turn their heads to the brunette unknowingly. She grabs a can, turns around and shakes it in a teasing way. The boys rush over to her to see for themselves. "Are they rotten?" Luke asks, grabbing the can she hands him.

Kirsten shrugs, "We can open them once we bring them back and put them in those storage containers that were in the cupboard?" She suggests, as Nick rummages through the box of cans. "Looks like there's about ten to fifteen cans. Think we can fit them in the backpack?" She asks Nick, turning her head towards him as he takes off the backpack.

"Should fit." He says, grabbing the cans and throwing them into the backpack. Kirsten smiled in relief, she was beyond happy that she found food for the group. At least she knows that when she finally leaves, she left them well supplied and as healthy as they can be in these times. She doesn't know when she'll leave, but she knows it's soon.

"We shouldn't stay out here too long." Luke informs, "Get the last of those cans, Nick. We better be back 'fore Pete begins to worry."

* * *

After a well filling dinner (well, as full as a can of cold chilli could make her), Kirsten grabbed the same old book, laid on the same old couch, breathed easy when the same old lighting illuminated the words on her book and got nervous as all hell when Luke sat down next to her. She could sense how far everything was going to boil over, most likely to a point where she couldn't control herself... No, that's foolish. She's a survivor. If she hasn't given into suicide yet, she wouldn't give into emotional attachment. Probably. Well, maybe if she tried really hard?

Little did she know, they both fell asleep while reading. She opens her eyes and glances down at her book, the moon had moved and no one longer shone on it. She places it on the table near her knees and yawns, stretching out her arms with a crack of her back. She glances around the dark room before standing up, feeling something heavy drop from her waist.

She looks down and squints her eyes in the darkness, noticing a hand that limply fell just before. She gasps, covering her mouth before stepping away from the couch. Luke was hunched to the side, fallen asleep and clearly implicating that she was wrapped in his arm.

This was her drawing point.

Like _hell _would she stay here any longer if that was what it was coming to. She was worried. Worried that this whole thing would escalate to the point of getting either one of them killed. She would rather take her chances out in the woods than with any type of emotional attachment. She was trying to find her Dad, one person to care about was enough. She didn't need Luke being added to that list. She quietly paces around, her hand still covering her mouth as she mutters curses.

She forces herself through the kitchen door, the moon was dulled by the curtains covering the windows, but she could still see her surroundings. She scrambles her way to the pantry, swinging the door open and bending down to the bottom shelf to grab one of the blue backpacks. She yanked it from the shelf and left the pantry door open. Unzipping the backpack, she laid it on the counter and spun back around to the pantry, taking out a few cans and shoving them in there.

She just can't believe herself. She let it escalate so much, now she can feel herself trying to not hold back. _Stupid, _she thought to herself. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._

She bends down to the cupboard under the sink and yanks out the box of weapons, scrambling for a pistol while trying to remain quiet. She only wanted to take one gun, she wasn't going to leave the group empty handed, she wasn't like that. That was just cruel to leave people she cares about with nothing. Kirsten closes the cupboard and stands up, reaching towards the back of her pants to slide the gun in when it slips from her hands, creating a clunking sound as it met the tiles.

"...Shit." She mutters, glancing back at the kitchen door in suspense. She looks down to the ground and grabs the gun, looking at it with the slightest of regret before shaking her head and letting out an audible breath. She slides it in the back of her pants before grabbing one of the water canteens and stepping over to the tap, quickly filling it up, she steps back to the backpack and shoves it in there.

Kirsten zips up the backpack and slings it over her shoulder, making her way to the kitchen door before abruptly stopping. She wasn't over thinking this... was she? Could she survive while still keeping an emotional attachment towards someone? No. No, that's crazy talk. The people she loves are either dead or missing, if that's not a sign of straying away from emotional attachment, then she didn't know what is.

The young woman pushes herself through the kitchen door before being stopped by an awoken Luke at the corner of her eye. _No... shit, _she hopelessly thought. Great, she wasn't going to be able to leave now.

He glances back at her with his arm around the head of the couch, looking her up and down before spotting the backpack on her shoulder. "Hey, what the hell are you doin'?" He harshly whispers, standing up from the couch swiftly and making his way up to her.

Kirsten chokes down the feeling in her throat, again, and looks up at him. "I'm leaving," She harshly spits back, keeping her voice low enough not to wake anyone up.

Luke's eyes widen in disbelief, he stammers with the tilt of his head while trying to figure out what the hell was even going on. "Leaving? You're leaving?" He asks, as Kirsten uncomfortably folds her arms and looks him up and down.

"Yeah, and you're not stopping me." She forcefully pushes out, holding her head up high though trying to get rid of that awful feeling again.

"Hey, you never said anything about leavin' to me." He growls in a whisper, catching Kirsten by a little bit of surprise at his anger. "The hell are you even leaving for?" He bitterly asks, placing his hands on his hips.

Kirsten doesn't even have the guts to tell him, she couldn't. She felt physically unable to tell him because if she did, she knew Luke would claim her leaving as his fault. When really, it was hers. He was never to blame, her feelings weren't manipulated or forced to grow an attraction to him, that was all on her. She looks up at him almost pleadingly, but quickly shakes it away and wears the stern facade she usually wore. She spins around on her heels and heads for the front door, but Luke took to the initiative to grab her arm and stop her.

Kirsten halted in her tracks, giving a brief sigh before he turns her around towards him. She glares up the older man, "It's not like it's any of your business why I leave or why I do what I do, anyway. So in the nicest way possible, mind your own."

"Uh, yeah. It is. So if you're not tellin' me, then I'm not lettin' you leave." He childishly retorts, folding his arms and earning a solid glare from the younger woman.

Although she knows she's at fault, she couldn't help but look up at him, clearly astounded. "I'm not playing games, Luke." She says in the most serious manner she can before strengthening her voice, "Just let go of me."

"Nope," He retorts, "Not until I get an answer and you're goin' to give it to me."

Kirsten shakes her head in astonishment, she never saw a determined side of Luke before. She pushes past him and heads for the kitchen door, but Luke is too quick for her and stands in front of the door.

Luke gives her a glare, "What? Are you too good for us? Is that why you wanna leave?" He harshly asks, catching Kirsten by surprise as she widens her eyes at him before glaring back at him. If this isn't going to get her to spill the answer, then he didn't know what would.

"What? No, that's not-"

Luke raises his shoulders, "What then? You hate the group?"

"Luke-"

"Do they bring you down or somethin'? Is that why you've been in a shitty mood? Because I don't see that as a good goddamn reason to leave us behind." He folds his arms as anger was slowly but solidly boiling up, and Kirsten was beginning to fear him before taking a step back.

"No! They don't! Th- They don't bring me down, just calm d-"

"So it's me?" Luke interrupts the stammering woman as she looks away from him in discomfort. He didn't realize how forceful and harsh he's being, he genuinely put fear in Kirsten for a moment and he didn't hold back, but he didn't want to hurt her either. Kirsten stays silent, her eyes trailing anywhere but at Luke. He places his hands on his hips and shakes his head, "Great." He mumbles before moving out of the way.

Kirsten continues to stay silent for a minute, letting Luke drown in his thoughts as he slowly paced around her. "I'm sorry," She mumbles, "but I just can't let that happen."

Luke is momentarily at a loss for words, he couldn't help but feel anger over what she said, "And why's that? Scared that you can't get too attached 'cause you think somethin's gonna happen?" Her eyes slightly widen, it was a good guess... Almost like he'd been through it before.

She remains silent for a short while before speaking, "Yeah, something like that." She gloomily says, clutching onto her arm as she stands there. If she was honest, she was conflicted. Part of her wanted to leave all the stress and hit the road, but the other part wanted to stay. This group was like family to her in a way, even if her real family was lost in the woods or maybe even dead. She had no idea what to do. "You know, maybe if the world wasn't so shitty and the people out in the world were better, then... then maybe I wouldn't be so worried. But they're not. And I don't know if you realized, but there was walking corpses just waiting for their next meal. I can't 'fool around' or 'follow my heart' because of some stupid feelings."

"A connection with someone isn't a guaranteed death, Kirsten. Being stupid is a guaranteed death." He informs her, looking down at her. "Why don't you wanna give this a chance-?"

"Chance?" There it was. The word that made her head ache with rage. "There _isn't _chances anymore, Luke. Not today, not fucking tomorrow, not ever. Look around you, okay? Everything is _shit!_" Kirsten's voice raises, earning a hush from Luke yet she still continued. "There wasn't a _chance _to save Judith, there wasn't a _chance _to save your parents, there wasn't a _chance_ to save my sister and now there's absolutely _no chance_ that I'll _ever _be able to get over what feelings I have for you!" She growls, her emotions began to build up and her eyes started to water. She held onto it for too long, held onto everything. This was her breaking point.

Luke was pulled back out of his own rage to be shocked by her outburst, her emotions finally spilling out to him. And it hurt him to see her like that, it hurt him a lot. He just wanted to hug her, to touch her face, to tell her everything will be okay and that he'd never leave her. They both knew that one day they'd leave each other, whether they'd just go their separate ways or both demise, that was inevitable. No, he didn't want to think about that. He had to live now, right now. Not in the future, and she needed to do that too.

She drops the backpack on the ground and buries her head in her hands, unsteadily breathing as she roughly wiped her eyes.

Luke looks down at her in sorrow, placing his hand on his hip as the other plants on his forehead. He felt like a jerk, a massive one at that. "Fuck- I'm sorry." He breathes out, "Look, I know you're scared about this-"

"I'm not scared." She spits out, looking up at him with squinted eyes as the tears began to form. It seemed to be a habit to correct those who said it.

Luke corrects himself, "Okay, I know you're not _sure_ about this, and I can see why- I really can. It's just... I can't hold back on you. You're right, everything _is _shit. But why should that stop us from trying to feel human again? Why does this world have to change who we are?"

Kirsten shakes her head as she wipes her eyes, gazing up at him through the darkness. "You're right. You're completely right. Look at them in there," She raises her hand to the stair case, "They're running on pure love. I was just too blind to see it. I'm sorry." She murmurs, shrugging her shoulders before she picks up the backpack. Luke took a breath of relief once she gave him a forced half smile and pushed past him. "I'll stay, but just give me some time. I sure as hell need it." She tells him before entering the kitchen and disappearing out of Luke's sight.

Luke couldn't stop himself from smiling a little, because even in her worst of times, she still managed to put a trance on him.

* * *

**A/N: Am I a bad person for not updating like I said I would? You're damn right. I recently started school again, and that's been on my ass for quite a bit. So, let's go through some reviews, shall we?**

**santiagoponcini20: **I love your story!

Some of things Kirsten that could do (in All That Remains) are:  
*Teach Sarah how to use a gun  
*Bother Carlos (thi is a joke)  
*...Well , i think she barely talk with the other cabin group members (with the exception of Sarah) . so talking to them?  
*Agree with Luke on the Clems bit situation  
*When Clem sneak into the cabin , she could give her some stuff for her arm  
*Say that she want to go hunting or fishing ,( i dodnt remember with one was) with Pete , Nick and Clem . which will make Luke trying to make her saty at the cabin  
*If she goes , she will flee with Pete , who she could save if she shoot the walker before it Pete

**I'm really glad you like the story, bud. These are some great suggestions and thanks for much for pointing out that she hardly spoke to the other cabin group members, I'll be sure to incorporate that throughout the story! Thanks for the review!**

**Gingerman454: **Another awesome chapter and this is just a couple small ideas but I think Kirsten (probably with Luke) should go scouting and find the place that Clem finds the dog at takes all the caned food she can find (that's why Clem could only find one), also when Clem arrives she relates how Kirsten and Luke act to how Lee and Carly acted. Just ideas you don't have to use them just keep doing what you're doing 'cause you're doing great :).

**You're awesome idea is incorporated as you command. Thanks for it so much, though. I was going through a case of writers block and this just really helped me out! Thanks for you awesome reviews!**

**TheDarkestMind: **Now that this is different, I'm looking forward when they go back to Carvers camp. And God knows what will happen once they get back. Really anticipated to see what happens next.

**I'll try to make it much different and better than the last version for you, haha. Thanks so much for the review!**

**Now with those done, I'd greatly appreciate a review from ****YOU****! I'm sure you've got some nice criticism and ideas just stored in that mind of yours, so feel free to share them!**

**Until the next chapter~**


	9. Stumble to Our Door Step

**A/N: I've started writing this literally just after posting chapter 8, hopefully it gets to you guys quick. If not, then school has bit me in the ass again. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

She felt exhausted, physically exhausted. She thought back to last night and realized how much of a (in Becca's words) "damsel in distress" she was acting like. Hopefully he didn't see her in that way, although she highly doubted it considering how much he tried to convince her to stay. Her head continued to ache, her arms and legs felt weak and she still felt like a walking timebomb.

Although the outburst the two of them had, Kirsten took Luke's words into consideration. Why let the word tear down who you are in order to survive? Does survival _justify _being a cold-hearted, mind-numbed human being? The problem why she felt so dead inside is because she didn't let any emotional attachment in, she still doesn't see that fully now, but she will. She will when she comes around.

"You slept on the couch?" A voice springs, causing Kirsten to jolt her head towards the staircase.

"Party hard, huh?" Another voice alerts her, her eyes trailing to the pair of Alvin and Rebecca coming down the staircase.

She forces a small grin and nods. In all honesty, she was just glad she didn't leave yesterday. Not seeing these faces in the morning anymore would mentally torture her, poking at her that she might not ever see a human face again, only a bunch of trees and walking corpses. "I probably passed out on accident," she lies, just as the two make it to the bottom of the staircase. She didn't feel physically up to it to walk upstairs and into her room, she just wanted to sit down on the couch and stare out the window for a bit while telling Luke that it was okay for him to go to bed. He eventually did, and is still asleep now.

Alvin grins, "Did you sleep walk over to the supplies and get yourself a pillow and blanket?" He cheekily points out as a coincidental Nick walks out of the kitchen.

Kirsten didn't even notice the pillow under her head or the blanket on her frame, she didn't even notice her knife on the table either, causing her to look up strangely at Rebecca and Alvin.

"No, that was me." Nick speaks up, "You were sleepin' like a ball on the couch when I came down after a piss, you didn't look comfortable. Figured I should of taken the knife out of your holster before you stabbed yourself."

Rebecca scoffs in a joking manner, "That's a first," she murmurs to Alvin, making her husband chuckle as Kirsten smiles at the two. Nick eyes them a steamy glare before looking back at Kirsten.

She turns her head to Nick and gives him a nod, "Thanks. Don't know how you managed not to wake me up, though. I- uh, I gotta work on that." She awkwardly sits up. Her hair was naturally messy, just like it would be after a nap.

Nick scoffs, "That's the first time in days that you've slept like a baby. You're always complainin' that you can hear Sarah mumble in her sleep, and she's three rooms down." He grins, earning a huff from Kirsten. Nick shrugs, "Ain't a big deal, anyway. I used to do it all the time," he mumbles. Kirsten thought back to when Nick shared his past about his father. About him always coming home drunk and passing out on the couch in a weird position, and little Nick, just around the age of six or seven, having to pull out a big blanket and pillow for him.

Kirsten gives him a small nod, she didn't want Nick to pour out in front of Rebecca and Alvin while they were in a cheery mood. The young woman rubs her eyes before pulling the blanket off herself and swinging her stiff legs over the side of the couch. "So, plain old oatmeal for breakfast?" She asks Rebecca who grabs the blanket and pillow to put back.

Rebecca nods, "It's never going to change, unless you've got some pancake mix. I'm craving like crazy," she giggles.

"Heh, that's what pregnancy does to you." She awkwardly smiles, standing up from the couch and stretching.

"You haven't been pregnant before, have you?" She quietly and curiously asks, keeping her voice low just in case anyone came downstairs. Luckily Alvin and Nick retreated into the kitchen to eat.

Kirsten's eyes widen, "What? No, never. I just remember my Mom craving the weirdest things when she was pregnant with my sister." She clears up, "And she definitely asked the weirdest things too." She chuckles awkwardly.

Rebecca sighs, "Sorry, I've been coming out with the weirdest things lately..." She says, visibly upset as she drags the pillow and blanket into the living room cupboard.

Kirsten had this talk plenty of times with Rebecca, she knew what comes next. "You still don't think it's Alvin's, do you?" She asks in a soft mumble, stepping forward to the pregnant woman as she shuts the cupboard door. Rebecca sighs, looking up at her with her dark, bold, brown eyes. "You can't think like that, Bec. For all we know, you could be pushing out a little Alvin. The smallest, littlest bundle of joy that anyone could ever ask for."

Rebecca smiles, looking down at her stomach before that smile fades. "But... but what if it dies?" She sorrowfully asks.

"Don't say that."

Rebecca shakes her head vigorously, "No, I mean what if it dies in my stomach? Then what? Is it going to tear me open from the inside?" She panics, her breathing much more faster.

"Rebecca, relax. That won't happen and you need to calm down. Just think positively, don't stress about this. I'll make sure that baby stays alive no matter what, I promise."

She smiles, looking up at Kirsten happily. "I'm so glad you'll be here to watch out for my baby, Kirsten. God, what would I ever do without you?" She asks, almost like a broken record due to how many times she's asked her that. Kirsten thinks back to last night, what would have happened today if she left? Would that reign heavier on Rebecca and build up more stress? She was just happy Luke caught her when he did. She's learnt from her mistake, and she's willing to make the best of what has to come.

Kirsten gives her a half smile, "I don't plan on ever leaving anyway."

* * *

"How've you been?" Luke asks, slumping down onto the couch next to her comfortably.

Kirsten keeps her eyes on her book that she's surprisingly reading in the day time, taking in an audible inhale and exhale. "Better. A lot better." She replies, closing the book and placing it on the coffee table in front of her. "I'm really glad you caught me when you did. You know, just thinking back on last night now, I don't think leaving would have been the option to go to. That would have been selfish, way too selfish. Especially when Rebecca needs me more than ever, along with Nick, Sarah, Carlos..." She glances sideways to the man and half smiles, "And I guess you."

Luke keeps silent, a small smile but a curious set of eyes appear on his face. "So... we're...?"

"No," She quickly blurts out, soon after realizing the bold approach. "I mean... I haven't adjusted yet. Not quite fully, at least. I just need a little more time to wrap my head around this thing." She softly and more calmly approaches, earning an understanding nod from the southern man. Silence fell rather quickly, she kept her eyes on her hands as he kept his on her facial features. His feelings were boiling to a point where he couldn't hold back anymore, but he did it for her sake. He was re-teaching her the most human thing there is and he would wait a million years until she was ready for any sort of step. She glances back up at him and stares into his eyes until she clears her throat, snapping him out of the trance she had on him. "Thank you," she murmurs, "for it all."

A soft smile spread across his lips as he stares back at her, watching her stand up and retreat up stairs. He bites down onto his bottom lip while rubbing the side of his jaw, not helping to stop the creeping grin on his face when an unsuspecting Pete walks out of the kitchen.

He glances at the farm boy before trailing up behind the couch and tapping him on the shoulder, causing Luke to jump out of that same power he was held under and turning around.

"Hmph, you're lookin' quite pleased." Pete observes, "She give ya the light of day this time?" He asks, a sly smirk appearing on the older man's face. Sometimes Luke wishes he wasn't as blatantly obvious when he fell head over for a girl. Knowing Luke for twenty-years, Pete could read the boy like a book. As a matter of fact, he could read him even if the book was closed.

Luke sighs before standing up from the couch, "Well, I'm proud of myself for one thing."

"And what's that?"

"Getting her to stay. She wanted to leave last night- and she had her reasons. I'm just glad I could make her see the other way of things before making the damn decision."

Pete's eyebrows raise and he lowers the crossbow from his shoulder to pointing downwards, "You ain't kiddin', huh? She ain't one to strike out like that. I mean- I figured she'd be a little introvert than us, but she wanted to just up and leave? What for?" He astonishingly asks, making Luke hesitate to tell him the answer. When Kirsten came out of the kitchen last night, she told him not to tell anyone about it. It wasn't like Pete was going to scold her for it, but she wanted her privacy and Luke respected that.

"She didn't say," he lies, raising his hands to his hips, "but we need to be headin' out before dark hits if we wanna get the fish outta the traps." He quickly subsides the previous subject, earning a suspicious look from the older man. "Well? Come on?"

* * *

Luke and Pete trudge through the woods wielding a crossbow and machete, both disappointed in the amount of fish they brought back.

_Zero._

They made small talk about the groups well-being, how Pete was holding up without his sister (which was well, considering Pete wasn't the type of person break down), and what names they would call the Rebecca's baby when it's born.

"I've always liked the name Ruby," Luke admits, "It's got an invitin' feel to it. Seems like a name Bec would like, too."

Pete chuckles with a shake of his head, "Judith always wanted to name her daughter Ruby." He says, "Too bad for her that she pushed a boy out instead." A surprised look appears on Luke's face followed by a laugh.

"Heh, never told me that one before." Luke grins, noticing Pete's face look away after the mention of his sister. He sighs, "Hey, I'm sorry, man. She was a good woman, you just gotta be thankful she don't need to deal with this shitty world no more." He comforts the old man, placing a hand on his shoulder. Pete half smiles, silence falling between the two.

Luke's head perks up once he hears the growls and snarls of walking corpses, but yet another unfamiliar noise. A sound of struggle and pain, but incredibly high pitched. "You hear that?" He whispers, looking around drastically as Pete mimics.

"Sounds like a kid..." Pete muses, "But where the hell's the k-?"

Luke abruptedly interrupts him with a yank on the older man's arm, "Over here!" He announces, running forward while pulling his glistening machete out of its holster. Pete runs as fast as his aged body can take him and carries his crossbow stanceivley. Luke stops running as what seems to be a struggling little girl tries to push the undead off her small frame, grunting and tearlessly crying out. He swings his machete through the air and merely misses the girls' head when slashing the weapon through the skull of the lurker.

Pete takes a stance and shoots the incoming dead as they begin to surround the group of them while Luke pulls the body off the little girl, arrow after arrow hitting each lurker until he hears a disappointing click in his crossbow. "Grab her and let's go!" Pete demands to the young man, who quickly shoves the machete back into his holster.

He kneels down and picks the girl up in the bridal position, "Come on, kid. We gotta get." He tells her, taking off with Pete trailing behind him.

The leaves and twigs cracked under their feet as the little girl whimpered in Luke's arms, her hearing became selective and the wind gushing the trees assisted her in and out of consciousness. She finally snapped back into the dawning reality when the sound of the undead faded and all she could hear was the irritating noise of Luke's panting, then the sound of small chatter.

She looks up at Luke once her mind found its ground, "Okay... I'll take that as a 'no'." He mumbles, glancing at Pete sideways as they make their journey back to the cabin.

"What are you doing out here?" Pete asks concernly.

"Where are the- uh, the people you're with? There's no chance you made it this long on your own." Luke doubts, looking down at the little girl in his arms.

She looks up trough the brim of her baseball cap with a pained expression, not saying anything as her body moves up and down with the movement of Luke's walking. He was just glad that he caught her in time before anything serious happened, but didn't really blame her for not talking.

Luke looks down at the girl with a half grin, "I hate to break this to ya kid, but- uh... I'm an expert at talkin' to girls who don't wanna talk to me." He says, trying to get at least _something _out of the girl, a laugh, a giggle, a smile for crying out loud.

Pete huffs, "Well, you've gotten plenty of practice with Kirsten back at home." He remarks, earning an eye roll from the younger man.

"Pete, c'mon, man. I don't need your help." Luke gloomily replies, earning silence from the man as the little girl still whimpered in his arms. "Well," he breaks the silence, "I'm Luke, and this is Pete."

Pete turns and smiles brightly at the girl, "Hey there."

The girl looks up at the two men through the brim of her cap again, "Hi, I'm Clementine." She weakly says,

Luke looks over to Pete who gives him a reassuring nod, "Well, it's nice to meet you Clementine. For now, we're gonna take you back to our group, okay? We've got a doctor and you look like you could use som- _Oh shit!_"

Luke cuts himself off after his eyes trail to the bite on Clementine's arm, he immediately drops the girl onto the ground as she painfully hisses out through her gritted teeth. All the terrible thoughts race through his mind as Pete tries to get answers of why the hell he dropped a little girl onto the ground.

* * *

As Kirsten's drifting in and out of sleep, she can hear the footsteps and frantic speaking of the group. When she peaked an eye open, she saw Luke bolt upstairs while the rest of them ran outside. _If it's something serious like Carver, they'd wake me up, _She thought to herself, _I need to get rest for night watch._

A few minutes went by before a loud gunshot woke her up, she shot up from the couch and saw Luke run downstairs and across the lounge room and out the front door. She flings herself off the couch and grabs her knife holster, hopping to the front door as she tries to attach it to her thigh. Once she does, she swings the front door open and sees the group crowding around a small figure on the ground while they uncontrollably argue.

"Clementine, are you okay?" Luke frantically asks, rushing up to a little girl with a Diamondback's baseball cap. Her curly black hair is tied into two pigtails and her left shirt sleeve is stained a dark crimson as she clings onto it.

"I'm not... I'm not working for anyone," She groans, "I don't know what you're talking about. I just need help." She wheezes out, looking up at Luke pleadingly. Kirsten shifts past her group members and looks down at the little girl addressed as 'Clementine'. Her amber eyes hit Kirsten hard as the young girl grits her teeth in pain, soon looking away.

Luke nods his head, "We have a doctor right here, okay? He'll have a look." He comforts the little girl as Carlos comes walking down the porch steps, Luke soon turning around to Rebecca and Nick with a scolding look, "Now what the hell is wrong with you people-?!"

"Luke?"

"She's just scared-!"

"Luke...?" Kirsten tries to grab his attention to figure out what the hell was happening, but soon the others started replying back to him.

"We're all scared, Luke. Don't act like we're the ones being irrational because we don't buy this bullshit story!" Rebecca retorts.

"No way she survived out here on her own! Why are we even arguing about this?!"

"_Hey!_" Kirsten shouts, heads snapping towards her as she folds her arms, "Can someone please tell me what the hell happened?" She boldly asks, "And why we have a little girl on our doorstep?"

Pete places his hands on his hips as he looks down at the little girl, "Found Clementine here in the woods bein' attacked by lurkers, said a dog bit her arm. But it don't matter, either way I'm not lettin' a little girl die in the woods."

"Pssh, I would." Rebecca mumbles, rolling her eyes as her arms cross over her chest and lay on her stomach.

Before Kirsten could protest against her (or give her a good scolding), Carlos made his way up to the group with a weary look. "Let me take a look." He insists. Clementine fearfully looks up at him as she slowly backs away before Luke reassures her that she would be okay. She lifts up her sleeve as a few winces came from the group, she painfully grits her teeth as Carlos takes a hold of her arm. "Hmm, whatever it is, it got you good." He side-notes, examining the long bite that was just about the length of her forearm.

Nick, who anxiously gnaws on his thumb, charges his way over to Luke in anger. "This isn't how we do things, man. When you're bit, you get put down, end of story. I'm not going through this again!" He growls, as a defensive Luke holds up his hands.

Kirsten makes her way up to Nick just incase anything happened. She knew Nick wasn't the type to hit his best friend, but anger did something to people that she just couldn't explain, and it hit twice as bad with Nick. "Nick, relax. She weighs like sixty-pounds, if she turns she won't be that difficult. We can't act like the dead are the only things that can bite people, if a little girl can survive an outbreak what makes you think a dog can't?" She protests, stepping in front of Luke and looking up at Nick.

"It doesn't fuckin' matter how much she weighs! She can get the jump on anyone of us!" He argues back, glaring at the woman before side-eyeing his uncle, and mumbling a "sorry" under his breath.

She shakes it off with a hand on his shoulder before Pete made a head turning suggestion, "We could take her arm off," Clementine gasps in shock as Carlos still examines her arm, looking around the group to see if anyone'd disagree. "I know that worked for a cousin down in Ainsworth, we could try that."

Rebecca crosses her arms with a shake of her head in disagreement, "And what could is that gonna do? You'll just be makin' it worse for the girl."

"We're not hacking off a little girls' arm." Kirsten firmly disagrees.

"It's crazy, no one's gonna volunteer to do that!" Alvin tells the group.

Pete looks side on to the little girl with a sympathetic look, "I would, if it means savin' her life." Clementine looks up at Luke with the biggest sad eyes she could pull, the amber pair struck a chord in him as well as Kirsten who saw.

Luke looks down at her sorrowfully, "I'm on your side, kid. No need for a guilt trip." He admits, as Kirsten gains a small half-smile.

Clementine's eyes jolt up to the opening door of the cabin, the raven-haired teenager pops her head through the small crack she creates with wide, beady eyes. "Who's she?" She asks in awe, opening the door a little more slightly.

"Sarah?" Carlos rises to his feet and gives a stern glare to his daughter, "What's I say? Stay inside." Sarah gloomily and slowly closes the front door without a peep, saddened by not being given an answer.

As soon as Carlos goes back to his duties on Clementine's arm, she speaks up and catches Kirsten by surprise by her maturity, "I don't mean to be any trouble. I just want to stop the bleeding and then I'll go. You'll never see me again, I promise."

Carlos curiously looks up through his lashes at the girl, "And where exactly would you go?" He asks.

"To find my friend, Christa -"

"Forget it, you won't get five feet." Nick blurts out with a wave of his hand, earning a cold glare from both Clementine _and _Luke.

Luke steps forward to the group with a determined look, "Look, I may be in the minority here, but my gut's tellin' me she's tellin' the truth. It probably is _just _a dog bite." He says boldly, before raising his hand to his hips and looking down, "Probably..."

Kirsten slightly rolls her eyes before speaking up, "I mean, that doesn't even look like a biters' teeth anyway, doesn't it?"

"I'm not an expert on lurker bites, Kirsten. Nor am I an expert at dog bites." Carlos admits, earning a confused look from the woman.

"Biters' teeth are just like ours? Maybe a little dismantled or chipped, but close to it, right?" Kirsten couldn't believe what he had said. _He's a doctor, isn't he? _

"Well it looks like this was a struggle, the movement from trying to get her hand away may have caused whatever's teeth to rip her skin more. Either way, there's only one way to find out." Carlos stands up from his position and folds his arms, making his way to the group as they all step forward.

Pete looks up at him and asks, "How?"

Kirsten looks down at Clementine before back up a Carlos wearily, folding her arms uncomfortably as he announces.

"We wait."

* * *

**72 MILLIONS YEARS LATER**

**I FINALLY UPDATE**

**ahem**

**This should have been out ages ago, but like I said, school bit me in the ass. It's almost taken a month to update and I'm so ashamed of myself for it. I'm so, so sorry. Please forgive me, the next chapter will be better! I promise!**

**Now let's read some reviews.**

**Audrie-13: **Omfg, so many feels. KISS ALREADY. ;_;

**You know what, I agree. **

**Gingerman454: **Don't want to leave a boring review so I'll just say I think you should write professionally.

**Woah, that's a mighty fine compliment. Thank you. :)**

**santiago poncini20: **"Better late than Never!"

I think she should remain 11.

**Your wish is my command.**

**Just going for the small reviews today, hopefully I can get some really long criticizing ones next chapter! (Seriously, kick my ass in the reviews. I need it for not updating so quick! And I need to stop showing the rush in my writing!)**

**Thanks for reading my lovely people! And don't forget to put in your review for honorable mentions. **


	10. Not Ready to Die

**Hey! Hope you guys liked the introduction of Clementine in the last chapter, and I really hope this chapter gets out quick!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Are you kidding me? We're not locking a little girl in a shed, Carlos!" Kirsten argues, folding her arms as she glares at the older man. She couldn't believe what was coming from his mouth, locking a small girl in a shed? _Pfft._ "She's like twelve-years-old, it's not like-"

"Eleven." Clementine mumbles, cutting her off and looking off to the side.

"Eleven... She's eleven-years-old." Kirsten folds her arms and glares at Carlos, "Look, we can keep her in my room and I'll keep an eye on her. If she turns, I'll do what I need to do and come and tell you guys. The fever should set in around a couple hours- maybe even minutes, we won't need to wait until morning." She suggests, reluctantly forcing out the words about putting the girl down if she so happens to be wrong.

"Fuck no!" Nick blurts out angrily, "That's exactly how- that's right when-" Nick's breathing started to become more audible and fast. "...Fuck, no! You're not staying in a room with 'er! That's fuckin' that-!"

"Nick!" Pete warns the younger man, glaring at him as a sign to back off. Kirsten ignored Nick's temper, she'd seen worse when he had breakdowns about his Mom. Once Nick cooled down, Pete glances around to the rest of the group with a confident nod. "I'm gonna have to agree with the girl, she weighs about a sack of flour. Worst comes to worst, she can handle that."

Clementine shakes her head disagreeingly, "W-What about my arm? It'll get infected if you don't treat it. It needs to get cleaned, an-and stitched, and bandaged!"

Carlos denies the little girls' pleads with a stern look, "I'm not wasting supplies on a lurker bite, and I'm not wasting group member's lives by putting them in a room with you. We're putting you in the shed, and if it turns out you're telling the truth, I'll clean it and stitch it up for you in the morning."

Kirsten was on the verge of letting loose on Carlos, she was about to let all hell break when Luke had gave her a sympathetic yet warnful look to her. She glances up at him, clearly infuriated, "You're just going to let him call all the shots? That little girl is going to _die _in that shed, I mean- how stupid can he be?!" She harshly whispers, holding back on any flying insults.

"It's not just his decision," Luke responds, "It's a majority thing, Kirst. Alvin won't want her near Rebecca, Nick don't even wanna look at 'er, and Carlos doesn't want Sarah's curiosity to get the best of her. If it turns out to be a lurker bite, there goes our vital supplies." He tells her, placing his hands on his hips, "Look, I know you don't wanna do this- neither do I, but we can't risk one of our own 'cause we were too trustin'. It's how it's gotta be."

Kirsten folds her arms, reluctantly nodding her head after consideration. All of what he was saying was true, but she just didn't feel good about it. Something wasn't sitting right in her gut, but she had to ignore it for the sake of the group. "Fine, let's... let's take her to the shed."

Nick makes his way up to his uncle who's firmly grasped onto the rifle in his hand, "Finger off the trigger, son."

"I'm not your son!" Nick bitterly spits out, snatching the rifle from his uncle's hands.

"Hey, don't be like that, man." Luke warns, looking sternly at his best friend. Kirsten didn't like to admit it, but she found it somewhat appealing when Luke spoke out to Nick about his anger. It was like he was showing dominance, something he rarely showed due to his soft-heart. She wonders if being forced to live these past two years in fear ever did something to him. Maybe he's changed his way? Maybe he just doesn't let things affect him so easily? Either way, she brought it upon herself to dig into a little bit more when this whole ordeal is over. She knows he wouldn't mind her talking to him, he'd talk to her all day and night- even escalate things to where he wanted them if he got the chance... or if she'd ever let him. But he knows very well it's a long way away to get to that point.

"s'alright, boy's got his Mom's temper." Pete grumbles, eyeing Nick as he brushes past.

Nick rolls his eyes, glaring over at Clementine with jerk of his shoulder. "Come on," He demands, as Clementine reluctantly follows him to the shed. Luke and Kirsten look at each other before jogging up to meet the two forward on, slowing down beside them and looking sympathetically at the little girl.

The sympathetic look soon faded into a look of weer once Clementine spoke up. "It was a dog, you'll see." She utters coldly, squinting at her arm as she holds the shaking limb in her hand.

Luke looks over to Kirsten, clearly unshaken by her words, before glancing down at the child. "I'll guess we'll find out in the mornin'."

Clementine pauses for a moment before mumbling, "If I last that long... Maybe you and her could go look for it?" She suggests, glancing up at Kirsten who brightened up, silently agreeing.

Luke gives a deadpan look to Kirsten and shakes his head, looking down at Clementine, "I wish I could, I really do, but it's too risky. Sorry."

Kirsten folds her arms angrily, she just couldn't believe that the group was worried about an _sixty-pound, eleven-year-old girl, _turning into a biter and attacking someone. She was half of Nick's height, she heavily doubted that a little girl could be stronger, either.

Luke unlatches the lock on the shed and swings the door open, looking at the small room gloomily. Nick ushers her to get in the with a jerk of his rifle, watching her slowly and reluctantly entering the shed.

Kirsten looks up at Luke and shakes her head, "We can't do this," she whispers. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes kept begging him not to go through with it, even though deep down, she knew it was for the safety of the group.

"We just don't want to, but we gotta." He replies, closing the doors and latching up the lock. Turning around and sighing as Nick rolls eyes at the sympathy he showed.

* * *

The group meeting wasn't like Kirsten thought it would be, it was more... _hostile. _Nick didn't like the fact that he had to take a little girl into the woods and put her down, nor did Pete and Luke. Kirsten just didn't want any part of it after she said that they should take the girl in, knowing that there's a possibility that she's useful, and being declined. Luke still wanted her to contribute, but she denied and kept quiet the whole time.

"I'll- I'll be back, I just need to pee," Rebecca announces, yanking on Kirsten's arm to follow her. The younger woman looked around the group, deciding that she couldn't stand being in the room any longer with things the way it was before leaving with Rebecca, "I needed to get out of there, bad." She admits, as Kirsten trails up the stairs with her.

"Are you alright?" She asks, looking up at the pregnant woman with concern. "I know this whole thing's got you on edge and all, even with the pregnancy hormones, but you got to ease up on that girl. She's scared, scared like we are. Even though it's how the world is now, I don't want us to leave a nasty mark on her. She can't be out there on her own, she lost her only friend before Luke found her and ended up getting chomped by something. I mean- What if you had a little girl and that was her? Wouldn't you want her to be safe with good people like us?"

Rebecca sighs, folding her arms as she reaches the top of the staircase. She shrugs her shoulders, "I... I just don't want anything to happen to us. You know what it's like out there, she could be sent by Carver for all we know." She suggests.

Kirsten thought about it for a moment, "You really think he'd injure a little girl and send her to us? Luke _found _her in the woods, remember? She didn't come to the cabin or anything."

"You know that man would do anything to get his hands on us," she mumbles, looking down at her plump stomach before catching Kirsten's eyes. "I- I can't think about him right now. I need to get some water on my face." She says, as Kirsten agrees and the two walk into the bathroom.

After leaning against the door while Rebecca fussed over her issues, Kirsten caught eyes with a pair of amber ones, widening once they spotted the older woman's own. _Did... did she get into the cabin...? _Fearing if Kirsten would tell Rebecca or not, the little girl stood quietly in the bathtub with her index finger planted on her lips.

"Kirsten? What are you staring at?" Rebecca curiously asks, turning around and glancing at the bath curtains.

"Uh- Just... a bug on the wall," She lies, "It's gone now."

Rebecca walked over to the door suspiciously as Kirsten moved out of the way gingerly, her hands together behind her back. "Okay... Well I'm going to go downstairs now..." She informs the younger woman, opening the door, "Are you going to come down?"

Kirsten shakes her head, "No, I need to- uh, need to... take some pills from the cabinet. I've got a nasty headache again." Rebecca nods her head, beginning to think nothing of Kirsten's weird behavior, and leaves the bathroom. As soon as she could hear Rebecca's feet patting against the staircase, Kirsten swiftly pushed aside the shower curtains and stared down at the little girl. "Look kid, you've got guts to sneak into the cabin and all, but are you out of your mind? If I didn't come to the bathroom and find you, Rebecca probably would have." She whispers boldly, "Are you trying to get things for your arm or something?" She asks, as Clementine nods.

"I promise you guys won't see me again, I just need to stitch up my arm and then I'll leave. I swear that it's only just a dog bite, you won't be wasting any supplies." Clementine bargains and begs with Kirsten, but she didn't know that she was already on her side. "Wouldn't I have turned by now?" To Kirsten, that wasn't the issue. What Rebecca brought up about Carver was the issue, how he'd do anything just to get his hands on the group and take them back. Maybe Clementine had seen him before? Maybe she could tell us where and if he was close, how close he was.

Kirsten folds her arms, squinting at her. "So, you're not with Carver?" She slowly asks.

"No, I've never met anyone named that in my entire life." She says, her voice began to seem weaker and weaker each time she spoke which worried Kirsten.

"What do you need now?"

"Just a pin or something to stitch up my arm."

Kirsten's eyes widened, "You're going to do it by yourself?"

"My friend Christa taught me how, she said I was good at it." Clementine informs kind of proudly.

Kirsten walks to the mirrored cabinet and opens it, grabbing the pin out of the pin cushion, and closing the cabinet. She hands it over to Clementine who steps out of the bathtub and grabs it. "I'll leave first so Luke doesn't decide to come upstairs and check up on me. After you hear the kitchen door close, leave as fast as you can."

Clementine nods, soon raising an eyebrow and looking up at Kirsten. "Is Luke like your brother or something?" She asks.

Kirsten holds back a laugh and shakes her head, "No. No, he's not my brother."

"Oh, so he's like your boyfriend?" She innocently asks, causing Kirsten to pause uncomfortably, "My friend Christa had a boyfriend named Omid, he was funny and was always nice to me."

"Sounds like a good man," she says.

Clementine nods, sadly looking down, before perking back up to her. "So is he?" She asks.

"He's- uh, he's getting there. Well, he's trying. He's not very good at trying but... It's the thought that counts, right?" Kirsten stammers a little, she tried her hardest not to blush, and in an attempt to stop it, she said goodbye to a grinning Clementine and quickly got out of the bathroom.

* * *

**A/N: Hey okay, short chapter. soz**

**I really want to thank you guys for the reviews, and I hope you enjoyed that little bonding moment with Clementine and Kirsten as well as Kirsten addressing Luke's feelings towards her. **

**Let's go onto the honorable mentions:**

**Bubbles2k100: **Schools a bitch, I can relate :/ I haven't updated in a while either, but think of it this way: The longer the wait, the more excited people are when you update! LIKE I AM NOW! XD

I feel that Kirsten didn't really play that big of a role in this chapter, and honestly, that upset me ;-; BUT, I still loved every word of it none the less! I just, wanted some Kirsten action... ;P

I REALLY enjoyed the banter between Pete and Luke though; now THAT put a smile on my face (It won't go away :D ...help me...)

Now that Clemmeh is in the story, I'm extra excited for the next chapter, and the one after that, and then next 50 chapters after that! (or whatever amount your deciding to do) I NEED to know how the relationship grows between Kirsten and Clem in this revamped MASTERPIECE :3

*It's so beautiful, I'M GONNA DIE! *(Despicable Me reference, changed to suit this review :3) Damn, I really love to write Reviews, as you can probably tell XD

I'm making a huge effort to review more, and give people my opinion on their stories, so expect me back soon :) I'll be that annoying itch that you can't scratch which never goes away XP

Overall, I really enjoyed this chapter, but PUT MORE KIRSTEN IN THE NEXT ONE, PLEEEEEASE?! For me...? :3 Awwwk, thanks XD And if you don't, *I will find you, and I will kill you. (so many references in this comment :P)

-Meg xxx (I like, wrote you a note almost XD)

**You're so sweet for the butt-kicking review! I needed it, it really provoked me to add more of Kirsten in the chapter which replaced a scene of Clementine in the shed (since we already know what happens in there).**

**I'm so freakin' happy that you're enjoying this and I really hope you review soon! Gah! Thank you thank you thank you!**

**Audrie-13: **FINALLY! I'VE- Er, WE have been waiting a long time for this! ;0 Since I'm not a person to naturally a person to give constructive criticism, or any kind of criticism for that matter, I am not going to kick your ass for not updating sooner. Sorry...? xD I will say this, though; the rush is pretty visible in the writing of this chapter. There's quite a few spelling errors. :P Anyways, I just hope you update sooner this time!

xx  
Audrie

**Ah, yes. I've finally updated, hehe. Thanks for telling me about the rush showing in my writing, I really hope I did improve in this chapter. Thanks for the review!**

**smilesXhugs: **SUCH A GREAT STORY WEEE I WAS WAITING FOR A GOOD LUKE/OC FIC YAY

**I'm super glad you found one! **

**I can never find an Luke/OC fanfiction that catches my eye, they sort of just go along with the Season 2 script and don't change that much around or elaborate on the other characters around them. Once it's time to (and like how I've shown before), it goes into other people's POV's like Luke and Pete's while still remaining in third-person and not sounding that cheesy. In the first version of this story, it was first person and only centered on Kirsten. So when other characters went off and did something, I'd be stuck with Kirsten being at the one place and ended up getting writers block and straying away from the story. But with this version, I can connect to the other characters and give out more better content by improvising scene's that weren't in the game. Wow, that was long, haha. Anyway, thanks for the review!**

**And that's it for this chapter, hope to get another out soon! And I hope for it to be longer! Or almost 3k words good enough? You can go ahead and decide. **

**-Inf.**


	11. To Great Lengths

**A/N: Hey! Hope you enj****oyed the last chapter! Quick question, do you have any friends or family that'll be interested in this story? I'd love to grow the amount of people who read this story. Like they say, the more the merrier! **

**I _think_ I can guarantee a cute Kirsten/Luke scene. Hopefully.**

**Let's get on with the chapter, yes? **

**Yes.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

She ran as fast as her feet could take her, Kirsten counted on herself not to trip up or slip in the soggy mud in her desperate attempt to get to the shed. The loud banging and and screaming from inside could be heard from the cabin, and she took no time to think twice about running outside. Ever since Clementine was thrown into Kirsten's life, her gut instinct begged to keep her with the group. Something about her made Kirsten feel connected to her somehow, not to mention Clementine almost wrapping Luke around her finger, but he was too big of a soft-heart anyways. If it wasn't for the rest of the group, Luke would have been forcing food down her throat and coddling her like he was trying to maintain whatever innocence she had left.

If she had any left.

By the time Kirsten reaches the doors, Luke somehow catches up to her fast pace and helps yank the wooden, creaky doors open. Watching the little girl deliver a nasty blow to the deformed skull of a living corpse, it's jaw lifelessly hung open and head limped to the side. Clementine yanked the hammer out of its head, blood splattering onto her clothes and skin as she grits her teeth.

"Oh my God," Kirsten raises her hand to her mouth.

Luke stares at the girl in astonishment, "Holy shit."

"What the-?" Alvin sputters.

"How the hell'd it get in here?"

"Little girl's tough as nails."

"Are you alright?"

She dropped the hammer on the ground and turned around. Panting, Clementine held her arm in immense pain, her amber eyes sent piercing daggers to the whole group as they seemed frozen in time by them. "I am **_Still. Not. Bitten!_**" She growls, gritting her teeth like a wild dog, "I never was! And you left me out here _to die!_"

"You did it..." Kirsten murmurs, gazing at the make-shift stitching she did. "B- But how did you just-"

"You patched yourself up?" Luke interrupts, his eyes widening even more as he places his hand on his forehead in disbelief.

Nick narrows his eyes at the little girl in anger, "Where'd you get that stuff?!"

"Did she steal from us?!"

Kirsten was in utter disbelief. She was expecting Clementine to either give up from the pain or finish it and faint. She was planning to check up on her every once in a while through the night while she was on watch to see if she'd still be knocked out and safe, but she didn't need to. This little girl-_ this_ _eleven-year-old_ _girl _is somehow still standing after getting bitten by a dog, fainting, almost getting shot, getting sent into a shed, sneaking out of the shed into the cold night, sneaking _into _the cabin, getting supplies without being caught, going back inside the shed and _putting a pin inside her own arm, _all to save her life. There was no doubt in her mind that this girl needed to be in the group.

"It doesn't matter what she stole or how she stole it," Kirsten speaks up, "Look at her! She just went through hell to save her own life and just to prove to all of us that she wasn't bitten by a biter. She could have left, she could have went into the woods, found a safe place and done this somewhere else! She proved a point to us all, and yet you care about her _stealing?_"

"She's right," Pete agrees, "Look at what the hell she just did. There ain't no way none of us could do that."

Rebecca snarls, "Says the man _not _carrying a baby, she still stole from us!"

"I did," Clementine nods, glancing down at the work on her arm, "I took stuff, and I'm sorry. I really am." She apologizes. Although the look on her face was sympathetic and soft, her eyes still sent chills down everyone's spine. They seemed unbreakable.

Rebecca smacks her lips, folding her arms and looking at Kirsten, "And you think we can trust her?"

Kirsten sighs, "Does that matter right now? She wasn't bit by a damn biter, my gut hasn't lied to me before and I doubt it will now. She needed to save her own life because none of us would, her death would have been on all of us if she didn't make it. She needed a hero, so that's what she became."

The group fell silent.

Kirsten hoped she hit home with that one, and so it seemed to. She felt brave, but not as brave as the little girl standing in front of her, weakly looking up at the group who couldn't seem to look her in the eye.

"Bring her in and I'll take a look at her arm."

* * *

After a thorough examination once again, some bandaging and Nick storming out with Luke following him, Clementine was finally comfortable. Carlos washes up his hands as he talks to the girl while Kirsten sits down at the kitchen table. After Carlos' declaration of the bite not being by an undead corpse, Kirsten felt obliged to say "I told you so" to Carlos. Although he fired back, she felt that it was enough for today, apologized, and suggested that Carlos should stay with Sarah for a while before going to sleep so she doesn't feel ignored, to which he agreed.

Luke chimes in with a bowl of cold oatmeal and blueberries, setting it down on the table and sitting down next to Kirsten as casually as he could without looking like an awkward mess. He tried his best not to glance at her as much as he does, and sets his sights on Clementine with a ton of questions.

"That's gonna leave one helluva scar," he observes, watching her shrug her shoulders simply and innocently.

"Better than losing it," she says, continuing to shove mouthfuls of oatmeal into her mouth. Kirsten could tell just how hungry she was, she was almost like a vacuum the minute she put that spoon in her mouth.

"Heh, you can say that again. Scars? They're way cooler than stumps." Luke chuckles.

Clementine looks up at him and nods her head, "Definitely."

As silence settles between the trio, the kitchen door swings open. Nick stands there, awkwardly scratching the back of his head as he stumbles up to Clementine with a guilty look. He was either there to apologize or scold her for stealing supplies, but to Kirsten, it looked like he was going to apologize as well as the awkward guy can.

He stands beside her, her eyes narrowing at him. There was no doubt that Clementine didn't grow warm to Nick as much as she did to Luke, he almost shot her in the head and gave her the cold shoulder when she tried to give her piece. "Hey, look- um, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for... well... for being a dick out there." He apologizes, "I got kinda aggro, and that was definitely not cool."

Clementine swallows the mouthful of oatmeal that sat in her mouth as Nick spoke, she places the spoon down and glances up at Luke as he begins to talk.

"Nick's been known to go off every once in a while," he informs her, "don't hold it against him."

Having been his best friend for almost twenty years, Luke definitely got to experience the harsh side of Nick's anger, he seemed to inherit it from both his Mom and Dad. One of Luke's clearest memories is when they were both fifteen-years-old and waiting in line for nine hours at a store for Mortal Kombat II to come out. A kid cut in line and Nick's anger got the best of him, he wanted to basically fight the kid, but Luke stopped him and told him to let it go. Once the kid in front of them got to the register, Luke watched Nick explode when he bought the last copy. That outburst earned both Nick _and _Luke a three month ban... and Nick a black eye.

"Yeah, I guess we all have our moments," Nick mutters, sadly looking off to the side as he scratches the back of his head.

Kirsten let a soft smile creep up on her, "He's a real softy when you get to know him, trust me." She grins, looking up at Nick as little laugh escaped her lips.

Nick scoffs, "Hey, come on."

"Like a big baby, huh?" She continues.

He rolls his eyes, "Yeah, sure." He replies.

Clementine lets the silence sink in for a few moments, glancing up at Nick with an accepting smile. "You were just protecting your friends, I get it."

Nick scratches the back of his head again, "I didn't mean to be so harsh, I just- ...We had a bad experience once." He sighs, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to Clementine.

"We've all had bad experiences."

Luke shut his eyes closed before sighing, running his fingers through his hair and setting his hand back down onto the table. "Nick lost his Mom, we took care of someone who got bit-"

"It was my fault," Nick interrupts, looking down at Clementine with a sad expression. Kirsten kept herself quiet, remembering back to the day where she was talking to Luke, then all of a sudden hearing that awful scream. She remembers Carver _forcing_ Nick to end it, but he just couldn't function. She shakes her head, trying to get the bad memory out of there. Once she snapped back into reality, Nick was leaving the room.

"So... since you're pretty much on your own, what's your plan?" Luke asks as soon as Clementine begins to eat again.

She places her spoon down and raises an eyebrow to think, "I'm not sure, I don't have anywhere else to go." She shrugs.

Kirsten tucks her fringe behind her ear, "You can stay here, Clementine. I don't think we're comfortable with letting you go out there by yourself." She insists, looking over to Luke.

He nods his head, "She's right. You're welcome to stay here if you want. Let yourself heal up, take some time to sort things out."

Clementine looks down cautiously, placing her spoon down before glancing back up at the pair. "Do you think everyone else will be okay with it?" She asks.

Kirsten swats her hand, "It'll be fine, they'll adjust." She blindly says.

Luke raises his eyebrow at the woman, "You sure 'bout that?" He asks. Kirsten knew better than that, it'd take quite some time for Rebecca not be so hostile towards the girl, even longer with those pregnancy hormones. Carlos would be agitated that Sarah would be hanging around her, and Alvin would have to put up with Rebecca's rants.

Kirsten stammers a little, tapping her fingers on the wooden table. "I guess they'll just have to... to- uh..."

"Deal with it?"

She gives Luke a deadpan look as she turns to him, "Yeah, let's go tell Rebecca that she has to _deal with it._" She sarcastically says, giving out a small laugh. Clementine smiles, still continuing to eat her food as silence fell. Only the sound of rain dropping onto the tin roof could be heard along with Clementine's munching.

Luke clears his throat, his expression falling to a cautious yet sympathetic one. "So... what happened to your parents?" He asks, as the small child abruptly stops eating. Kirsten slams her foot down onto Luke's under the table as his hisses out in pain. "I-If you don't m-mind me askin'," he says in pain, grabbing his foot from under the table to dull the pain while glaring at Kirsten who paid no attention to him.

As Luke's foot stopped hurting and Clementine felt comfortable to talk, she did. "They died." She bluntly replies, glancing up at Luke in sorrow.

Luke pauses for a moment, "That's tough. I- uh, I lost my folks too." He says, noticing that she was hurt. His eyes drift off to the side as Kirsten clears her throat, he told her about the story back at Carver' felt so bad that they died in one of the worst ways possible, especially since Luke wasn't even at home to help them.

He was taking the night shift at the bar he and Nick worked at. Nick would usually wake up at around mid-afternoon, do whatever he did, and Luke would pick him up and go to the bar once his shift started. One night, they were at the bar and the TV cut the Sunday night football game to an urgent announcement. Luke remembered his heart jumping once he read 'breaking news' in bold white letters. He remembers panicking, his bitter manager shutting down the bar and telling everyone to get out, getting in his car with Nick and speeding off to his parents house.

As she was stuck in her little zone of thought, Clementine tried to dodge every question Luke threw at her. Eventually, Pete came in to alert that the cabin was too lit up and could be drawing attention. He then invited Clementine on a trip to the fish traps, and she gladly accepted.

"Kirsten? You there?"

The young woman shakes her head, glancing up at Pete who waves his hand in front of her eyes. "Huh?" She rubs her eyes, glancing back at Pete. "Oh- right. I'm on watch." She figures out, noticing the rifle and lantern in Pete's hand.

"I'll go set up the couch for you, Clem." Luke insists, walking to the kitchen door. "You sure you don't want a bed or anythin'? One of us'll be glad to sleep on the couch." He politely asks, jerking his thumb towards the lounge room.

Clementine shakes her head, "It's fine, I'm happy with the couch." She insists, still eating bowl of oatmeal. _Luke did give her a lot of oatmeal, she seems to suck it up like a vacuum, though. _

Luke shrugs and walks out of the kitchen as Clementine continues to eat. Pete hands the lantern and rifle to Kirsten before making his own way out of the kitchen. Kirsten looks back at Clementine before she reaches the door, flashing her a small smile before exiting and noticing Rebecca walking down the wooden stairs, she sighs. Remembering the story or Luke's parents hit her hard. She didn't like having the potential to go find her father and not doing anything about it, it was starting to get on her nerves. She just hopes that one day she'll finally find him again. It's one of the last things she wants to do before the inevitable comes.

Kirsten exits through the front door and walks onto the porch, listening to the rain still hit the tin roof again. The tree's blew side to side as the wind pushed strands of her hair into her vision, using her wrist to move it out of the way. She places the rifle down onto the bench seat and turns the lantern off, trying not to draw an unwanted attention. She places it on the ground beside the leg of the bench seat and sits down beside the rifle, grasping it and placing it on her lap.

She was happy that she got enough sleep for watch before being interrupted by the whole Clementine situation. There was still something about that girl that stood out to Kirsten. Was it her piercing amber eyes that even made Nick shiver in his skin? Was it the fact that she could stitch her own arm without fainting? Maybe. It seemed like she was connected to Clementine somehow, but she didn't _know _how, and she was determined to find out.

The door knob of the front door twists as Kirsten snaps her head towards it, knowing it was either one of two people. Rebecca, since she has problems getting to sleep at night, or Luke, because Luke would look for any excuse to speak to her.

And Luke was correct.

"You don't need to stay out here, Kirst. I can take watch for you." He insists, softly closing the front door. He moves the rip of the rifle upwards before sitting down and placing it back down.

She shrugs, keeping her eyes on the falling rain. "It's fine. I got the sleep for it anyway, you didn't." She replies, as Luke lets out a breath of relaxation. "You should go back in, it's cold out here."

Luke scoffs, nudging her arm a little bit. "Says the girl wearing a t-shirt. You should go put on a jacket or somethin'."

Again, she shrugs. "I don't mind the cold. Being forced to sleep on the ground for a while, I just kind of adjusted to it. You know?" She says, turning around to face him as he glances at her like she's mental.

"You're talkin' to the guy who can't stand not wearing a sweater."

She giggles, "Well, talking to brick walls are fun sometimes, too." She teases, as Luke rolls his eyes with a playful smile on his face. There was a unsettling silence, she knew that he'd bring _it _up any moment now. She was just scared that she'd come out and say something completely stupid, which she almost did in the kitchen while the group meeting was going on.

"So..." He awkwardly breaks the silence, scratching the back of his head as he looks down to the ground. "You been thinking about it?" He asks, clearing his throat.

Of course she had been thinking about it. Well, between that and the Clementine situation. She couldn't stop thinking about it while she was trying to fall asleep, thank God she finally did, but she tried her hardest to focus on the situation at hand.

"I can't think of a moment where I didn't, but..." She trails off, fearing that what she'd say next would hurt him. "I tried to put it at the back of my mind with Clem, and Rebecca getting mad, Carlos being extremely over-protective and-"

"Kirsten." He interrupts her. She glances up at him with wide eyes. "I get it, I understand. I'm just- ...I'm scared that you'll go back to pushing it all away again."

She was staring at him in shock. "What? No- I don't mean it like that, I- I promise. I just needed it out of the way so I could focus. You don't need to worry." She exclaims, as Luke looks down at wearily. She felt as if he was doubting her, but at the same time, fearing that she'd actually go back to it. That unsettling silence was boiling over again. Silence wasn't a good thing, silence meant something serious was going to happen, or Luke didn't want to talk anymore. "I'm serious about this, Luke. _That?_ I don't know what the hell that even was- what it was supposed to be. That wasn't right, and you made me see that. So I'm trying. I'm trying so hard and I'm trying for you. I don't want you to even _think _that I'd go back on my word."

Luke was surprised that she was whole-hearted to him like that, she's doing all she can to make him believe that she was just as serious as he was. "Well, I'm glad you're serious about this." He smiles, causing her to sign in relief. " And to be honest with you, I don't think I'd be half as happy as I am right now if I never got to meet you." He smiles, her eyes lighting up as a big grin spread across her face. You hardly ever get to hear sweet things said about you at times like this, you hardly ever get to even feel happy. Just as much as she made him happy, he made her happy. Before, she never realized it. Sure, he made her laugh, but there was more intent behind it than just wanting to be a funny guy, and she was just realizing this now. She could feel herself edging closer and closer to him, but the distance was hardly noticeable. God, she felt so happy that she could just lunge over and ki- "But, that's not the only thing I came out here to talk about."

Oh.

"What is it?" She asks, trying to calm down the feeling in her. _Stop it, stop it. Just- wait it out._

"On our way to the traps, Pete and I saw a shack around the dirt road. There's probably tools in there, tools we could use for around the cabin or out on runs or something." She mentally sighs in relief as he continued to ramble on about going on a run to get them. Just staring at him made her clench her fists in desire, she was fidgeting in the slightest as she tried to hold back again, biting down on her bottom lip to stop it in anyway how.

But she couldn't.

She just couldn't, and that resulted in the most scariest thing in her life. Scarier than biters, scarier than thieves or murders. She simply (and rather quickly) lunged over, placed her hands on either side of his face, pulled him in, and planted her lips on his. There was a small difference in both of their reactions; she was in shock just as much as he was, and she was liking it just as much as he was, but he wasn't as scared as much as she was. Fear made her pull away, but determination made her want more.

But, peacefully, she leaned back down to her side. Running her thumb across her bottom lip, she glances up at him after a small silence, "You know, I really thought you were going to be the one to do that and not me." She mutters, as Luke still stares at her in shock. "I didn't mean to do that, but..."

"But it did," He finally speaks, a grin softly spreading to his face, "and it should happen more often."

* * *

**A.N: OHOHOHOHOHOH! BEEN WAITING FOR THAT FOR A WHILE, HUH? **

**same tbh**

**There's a longer chapter for you guys! I hope you liked it and don't be afraid to leave a long review! It's not pestering at all, they're really helpful! And if you're lucky, you could be one of the next three people in the honorable mentions!**

**Here we go!**

**ZombieSlayer995: **Yay, it's back! Great chapter, I enjoyed the improvised scene with Kirsten and Clem

**Glad you liked it! And don't worry, this story doesn't plan on being gone any time soon!**

**Bubbles2k100: **Seems the tension is growing :P Another amazing chapter, my friend! They just keep getting better and better and, well, better! XD It was nice to see Kirsten everywhere in the chapter :3 I missed her ;D Keep the chapters coming. I'm always ready to review 'em and leave my opinion :) 10/10 this chapter was perfect!

**Aw, you're so sweet! Thank you!**

**blerp: **A great chapter! I never finished chapter 3 of this fic until now, but I'm glad I returned! Even if it's 1:30am now and I have school tomorrow (or, today, technically).

You're a very talented writer, and I'm excited to get to see this updated. I was drawn here by your fic 'Cemented' and am very glad I went to look around at your other fics!  
Keep writing, even if school tries to plague the air with it's gross stench.

**You are so supportive! Thank you so much! I'm really glad you're enjoying this along with Cemented (which is currently on a hiatus), and I'll always keep writing! Trust me, I don't plan on skipping this story. I just thought I'd revamp it for the wait for Season 3. Then it's on to the sequel of this story! Woo!**

**Those are the mentions, don't be afraid to leave yours! It helps me out dearly and I love reading what you guys have to say about my story.**

**P.S ILL TRY NOT TO TAKE A MILLION YEARS TO UPDATE **


	12. Self Destruct

**A/N: GUYS I HAVE A LEGITIMATE EXCUSE AS TO WHY IT'S TAKEN A BUTTLOAD OF A LONG TIME TO UPDATE; I HAVE NO COMPUTER. I HAVE TWO AND THEY'RE BOTH BROKEN LORD HELP ME UGH. I HAVE TO EDIT THIS INTO MY AUTHORS NOTE VIA PHONE. There's no way I can finish writing the chapter on phone, and I'm so sorry that you guys had to wait.**

**ANYWAY**

**I just realized now that we're starting Episode 2, so ending the last chapter with that fluffy bit was kind of a treat for you guys, right? (That wasn't even planned, really. I just threw that in at the end of chapter because I thought we'd been waiting too long for something to happen). With that said, let's get onto the chapter! And don't forget to review! Nothing is more important to me than your guys' opinion on the story!**

**With that, enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

The morning was peaceful as the sun gleamed orange through the window, glaring right into Kirsten's eyes as she squinted. She raised her hand towards the beam in an attempted to block it, but she decided to sit up from her bed anyway. An hour before, she heard Pete, Nick and Clementine head out. She knew Nick wasn't the type to be a morning person, but he was slowly adjusting to waking up early to check the fish traps.

His depression, however, didn't seem to find its way out.

Kirsten saw the seams cracking when he went into complete rage mode about Clementine's bite. Last night, when Kirsten went inside after Luke finally convincing her to get some well earned rest, she saw Nick sitting down at the table alone. She asked what was wrong, but he just shrugged her off with his head buried into his hands. After the routine convincing, he told her that he'd been having random thoughts of what happened to his Mom. He couldn't get them out of his head, no matter how hard he tried. She tried telling him that although the way she went out was terrible, she doesn't have to deal with Carver or the bullshit world they live in now, but he just sort of shrugged her off. She felt terrible for leaving him, but she headed off to bed. Now, there she was, waking up to a peaceful morning, just as if it never happened.

Kirsten grasps the bed sheets and folds them over, swinging her legs out of the bed, she stands up. She'd gotten to a stage where she was comfortable with wearing the clothes of the people who formerly lived in the cabin, but she tried to neglect the fact that they could have died. The place was almost untouched when they found it, and she'd only found one biter. But, the furthest she went was a pair of bed shorts and a white t-shirt, she just felt too weird to be wearing other people's clothes.

Swapping into her normal clothes, she tied her hair into the usual ponytail and left the bedroom with her boots in her hand. Once she got downstairs, she fell back onto the couch and began putting on her boots. As she was, she saw Sarah curiously coming out of the kitchen with her book in her hand, flashing a smile to the older woman.

"Hey, Sarah." Kirsten greets, "How was the book?" She asks, pushing her foot into the boot with a bite of her lip.

Sarah nods, "It's great. I was going to read it again, but I was wondering if maybe Clementine would want to read it." She gleams down at Kirsten with a bright smile. Even after being scolded by Carlos and told to stay away from Clementine, Sarah was still confident in being this girl's friend. Usually once her father scolded her, Sarah wouldn't want to talk to anyone for a day or two, and if she did soon after, she'd get much more panicky until it soon wore off. But who would blame her? She's been the youngest girl in the group with nothing to do for the past few weeks, of course she'd want to meet new friends after having to abandon Anne and Becca.

Kirsten raises an eyebrow as she finishes typing up her shoe laces, "Don't you think that's a little too advanced for her? After all, she's only eleven." She tells her.

The younger girl shrugs, looking off to the side as she re-adjusts her red framed glasses, "Yeah, I guess... I just want her to like me. I mean, she said we could be friends, but she also said that we just met. My Dad also said not to speak to her... but I'm so alone sometimes. You're always really busy on runs or sleeping, Nick got tired of playing chess, Luke said he had other things on his mind, my Dad's usually too tired to do anything now, Rebecca's pregnant, Pete's almost never here and Alvin's always making sure Rebecca's okay." She pouts, inhaling and giving out a big exhale as she slumps her shoulders.

Kirsten stands up from the couch and furrows her eyebrows, "Hey, look. I'll talk to your Dad about Clem, I'm sure I can get him to cool it for a bit. In the mean time, why don't you go off and find a book that she can read?" She smiles, resulting in Sarah perking up and nodding her head.

"Okay, here, you can have this one." She says, handing the book over to Kirsten with a bright smile. Kirsten nods her head, half smiling as Sarah turns around and bolts upstairs.

Kirsten glanced down at the book, tracing along a dented scratch with her thumb before bending down and moving some objects on the coffee table to make room for the book. As she places it down, the kitchen door opened once again, the small talk from Alvin and Rebecca grew louder for a brief moment until Carlos stepped out and the door closed.

"Morning, Carlos." Kirsten greets, smiling halfly at the man. If she was going to try and convince Carlos that Clementine isn't a threat to Sarah, then she might as well soften him up before going at it. "Sleep well?" She asks, walking forward and meeting the man half way.

Carlos shrugs, "I'm always tired these days, Kirsten. I slept just as well as you could imagine." She tells her.

Sometimes she felt like she was talking to a brick wall when it came to Carlos, so she really didn't find a point in the 'softening up' speech. These days, now that they were more calm, Carlos still felt so emotionally and physically drained. Everything terrible that happened, just... kind of happened. It left scars, but he just brushed them off. They were a distant yet hurtful memory that he learned to ignore.

He somehow always left Kirsten wondering how much he could hide from his daughter, especially when being taken care of and not being taught anything was basically a death sentence within itself. But by the day, Sarah was growing more eager to learn things. Kirsten never really got around to continuing the small lessons she had with Sarah with using a knife since Carlos was at the cabin regularly, but now with Clementine in the cabin, she hopes that the little girl could help her out.

Kirsten sweeps her fringe behind her ears, knowing quite well that Carlos with hardly any sleep meant a mean Carlos. But she was prepared for that challenge. "Well, I needed to talk to you about Sarah." She tells him, his eyes looking down at her skeptically as he folds his arms and leans to one side. "It looks like Clementine's staying with us, and I don't think Luke would let anyone make her leave, let alone let her leave on her own. I want you to know that no matter what you're going to say to her, Sarah is still going to want to be friends with her."

Carlos narrows his eyes at the smaller woman once he hears his daughter's name, looking away as if he didn't want to talk about it. "I don't have time for this, Kirsten. What I tell my daughter is what she must do. Now if you'll excuse me―"

"No, this isn't something you're going to walk away from." She interrupts the man, stepping in front of him as he tries to walk around her. "Your daughter is alone, Carlos. She needs a friend closer to her age right now and Clementine is the only one she's got."

"She doesn't need a friend, I can keep her company―"

"You can't always fix things with Sarah by yourself. Sarah is only fifteen years old. You shelter her because you think that's the only way she can live a normal life. If you're going to go as far as doing that, then you should at least let her have a friend she can be with all the time." She counters, looking up at him sternly. It wasn't that he didn't understand her, it's just that he didn't want to listen to her. He knew very well that she was right, but he didn't want to admit it or go along with it.

Carlos' eyes firmly narrowed down on Kirsten, his arms unfolded and he stepped closer towards her. His voice was low, but strengthened, "Clementine manipulated Sarah into stealing our own supplies from us. My daughter doesn't need a role model like that and isn't _any _of your business. I will not have you try and take control of her."

"It is my damn business when your daughter comes to me and tells me she's lonely." She fires back, "I'm not going to just sit back and say "Sorry, kiddo. Your Dad's calling all the shots" when I know that'll just break her heart. Clementine did what she had to do to save her life― A little girl, who's half our size, became the hero she desperately needed. You don't think that's someone Sarah should be hanging around?" She asks, as Carlos backed down. Again, he looks away as Kirsten lets go of breath she didn't know she was holding. They were both silent, Carlos didn't want to give the answer Kirsten was almost demanding, but she had to get it out of him somehow. "Give Clementine a chance, at least. She could do things for you and your daughter, like protect her when we can't."

Carlos's eyes darted up from the ground, her last words struck a big nerve, but it got through to him. He finally lets out a sigh, raising his hand to his forehead as he looked down, "I'll think about, Kirsten." He tells her, removing his hand from his forehead and folding his arms. It was the only answer that he was going to give that was closer to what she wanted. She gave him a small nod before moving out the way and letting the man go through and upstairs.

Kirsten's eyes followed Carlos briefly until he was out of her sight, once he was, she sat down on the armrest of the sofa and hunched over, leaning her elbows on her knees and resting her head in her hands. She had no idea if what she said was going to cause a fallout between her and Carlos, but she deeply hoped not. He was a good guy, she just didn't agree with sheltering Sarah like that. Sarah seemed like she had anxiety by the way she handled things, but she was so willing to learn how to defend herself nowadays, Kirsten hopes the confidence in knowing how to defend herself might just distract her from breaking down. To Kirsten, it was worth a shot to try and help her.

She stood up from the sofa and took in a deep and slow breath.

_I should go get some food in me._

* * *

"Alvin, you find that flashlight?"

"Right here," Alvin threw the flashlight in Luke's direction, quickly turning around and grabbing a pistol out of the box on the counter as Luke catches it.

Kirsten worried intensely, Pete and the others hadn't showed up all day. It took only two hours to go to the stream, get the fish, and come straight back. And that was only on a good day. If there were no fish, they would have been back by the time Kirsten woke up or even before that. Now, all the speculated thoughts scrambled to her head, and it wasn't helping the mood she was in. _What if Carver found them? What if they're trapped? ...What if one of them died? Christ, stop thinking like that._

"Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Kirsten nervously asks, pushing herself off the kitchen wall that she leaned on.

Luke immediately shook his head in response as he looked down at her, "I want you to stay here just in case we really are dealing with a Carver situation, keep everyone good and hidden if he decides to march in." He insists, buckling up his machete holder.

Kisten nodded, "Yeah, yeah. Good idea." She agrees, earning a nod from the taller man as he turns around and walks towards the door. "When you guys get down to the stream, make sure you search across the other side of river. And for the last time, be careful out there, alright?"

As a worried Rebecca pleaded with Alvin to not leave, he and Luke finally convinced her that he'd be alright. Alvin hugged his wife, gave her a kiss, and waited for Luke outside.

"You know where to take everybody to hide if he comes, right?" Luke questions Kirsten, placing his hand on the door knob and opening it a few inches.

"Down the hatch and under the cabin. I got it." She replies with a nod of her head, folding her arms as Luke flashes her a smile before exiting the cabin and shutting the door behind him.

"I think we should stay quiet for a while, I'll keep watch from the inside." Carlos states, walking over to the kitchen counter and grabbing the box of firearms. "Kirsten, can you go tell Sarah to difuse the candles in our room? We don't need to attract any other unwanted attention."

Kirsten nods her head, "Sure, don't forget to load up our guns just incase."

"You don't think he'll actually come around, do you?" Rebecca worriedly asks, clutching onto her plump, round stomach in distress.

Kirsten light shrugs her shoulders, "I'm really not sure this time, Bec. We won't let him get us, though, there's no doubt about it."

* * *

Kirsten's eyes lazily fluttered open, blurrily setting themselves on the small girl with the baseball cap in front of her, blocking the glaring sunlight from the window. With a groggy sounding throat, the woman spoke up, "C- Clem? Is everyone back yet?" She asks, resting on her elbows as the little girl shook her head.

"No... Carlos and Rebecca just left." She answers, causing Kirsten to immediately and almost robotically sit up fully.

"You're back? The hell do you mean they just left? Left for what?" She curiously asks, swiftly standing up from the couch and bolting into the kitchen.

Clementine followed the older woman as she spoke, "We were at the stream when walkers seperate Nick and Pete. Pete got bit and I ran to Nick, but... Pete got killed." She informs the older woman, letting her words out easily as Kirsten stared blankly at the empty kitchen.

"F- Fuck..." She curses, turning around and looking down at Clementine in shock. "Pete's... dead?" She unsurely asks, earning a reluctant nod from the girl.

Pete was gone. Dead. Kirsten felt robbed of the chance to say goodbye to the man she looked up to and saw as not just a group member, but like family. Not only was she hurt by that, but it was killing her to wonder how Nick took it. She was prepared to help him, but she only wondered how well she'd let herself take it.

"I was with Nick, but..."

Kirsten went into utter panic mode, "He's alive though, right?"

Clementine nodded her head, unknowingly calming Kirsten down. "Carlos wants us to watch Sarah." She informs the woman.

Kirsten took a deep breath in, "We can do that."

* * *

**A/N: wow okay that was a long wait**

**I decided to try really hard with this terrible phone to finish the chapter and I finally did. Sorry if the ending is a bit lazy. ;u;**

**Y'all are welcome. Regular updates (as regular as my updates actually can be) will resume this monday/tuesday when I finally get one of my laptops back! woo**

**Sorry, can't really do honourable mentions on this phone, so I'll be sure to double it next chapter! 6 reviews being mentioned and it won't matter if I mention 2 of yours. Double the honour? (As honourable as this honour can be)**

**Anyways, don't forget to review and I hope you a loved the chapter! Things are going to get really heated soon. And I mean heated. Both tension wise and sexual wise. Well, as sexually heated as a T/M rated fic can get, ya know?**

**Alright, I'm being fucking weird. Bye!**


	13. Close Call

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the last chapter being shorter than it usually is, I just wanted to hurry up and get something out to you guys so atleast you could read SOMETHING, ya know? Anyways, nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed it anywa- ...**

**wait... ****wait, what's that?**

***squints***

**is...? is that...?**

**diD WE ACTUALLY GET 200+ REVIEWS?! HOLY SH-**

**I actually can't believe that we've gotten up to 200+ reviews I'm scrEAMING! YES, _WE_ GOT UP TO 200 REVIEWS. I CAN'T. I ACTUALLY CAN'T. I DID NOT IMAGINE THIS. I CAN'T IMAGINE THIS. PINCH ME GODDAMN IT.**

**I love you all SO MUCH you can't believe how happy I am writing this, I feel like I'm dreaming. TRYING TO GET UP TO 200 REVIEWS WAS SO ANTICIPATING FOR ME YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND (well maybe you do idk) I LOVE YOU ALLLL. I can actually remember feeling so overwhelmed last year when the original story got up to 40 reviews, but that overwhelming feeling doES NOT COMPARE TO THIS ONE.**

**Okay. So. I finally have one of my babies back ;u;**

**My computer, I mean. So we get to do honourable mentions again!**

**So enjoy the chapter, it's pretty suspenseful since we meet someone we've been dreading. Sorta.**

* * *

"Say cheese!"

A bright flash of light stunned the two girls as they yelped, temporarily blinding them as another girl giggled. Kirsten rubbed her eyes in an attempt to dull the blindness, squinting down to see Sarah with a polaroid camera in her hands, giggling. Kirsten groaned as she fixated her eyes at the teenager, "Sarah? God- Where did you find that thing?" She asks, taking it from Sarah's hands and giving it a funny look.

"I found this under the house, there was all kinds of old stuff!" Sarah enthused, glancing up at Kirsten who inspected the camera.

Kirsten fiddled with the camera's parts as she looked down at it, giving a small grin and raising her eyebrows, "Damn, this thing looks older than me." She observed, looking back up at Sarah as she push the camera her way.

Clementine's eyes adjusted back to enough before glancing up at Kirsten, "Well, how old is it?" She asked.

"Triple my age," She answered, letting Clementine grab it from her hands. The little girl stared oddly at it, not having any knowledge of how to use the foreign object. She let her fingers do whatever they wanted until they pressed up against the button that caused the small machine to flash. Out fluttered a polaroid, landing on the carpet rug of the wooden floor. Kirsten bent down and picked up the small picture and waited for it to reveal. As it slowly faded into eyesight, Kirsten grinned as she saw half of Clementine's shoe and Sarah's leg. "Nice photography skills, Clem." Kirsten teased, as the little girl shrugged off the comment and handed the camera back to the older woman.

"Maybe you could take one of me?" Sarah asked, a small smile forming on her face, "Please?"

Kirsten stepped back a little, holding the camera up to her face, "Sure, but stand away from the window." She instructed, shifting towards Sarah as she moved into position.

**_CLICK!_**

Sarah gleamed, moving towards Kirsten as she grabbed the polaroid and handed it to her. "It looks nice," She stated, realizing Clementine's distressed face and morphing her own into a frown. "What's wrong? Um, where's my Dad?" Sarah asked, leaning to one side to see out the bedroom door.

Clementine forced a smile and looked up at Sarah, "He'll be fine."

Sarah raised her eyebrow, "Are you sure?" She suspiciously asked, as Clementine uneasily looked away.

The little girl reluctantly spoke up, "Pete's dead..."

Sarah's eyes widened as she gasped, "Oh my gosh..."

Kirsten shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose before bending down to her knees, "But your Dad will be okay. They've just gone to see if Nick and the others are fine. Nothing to worry about." The woman didn't know who she was trying to convince; Sarah or herself. After hearing the devastating news about Pete, she refused to believe that Nick wasn't okay. And Luke? Oh god, she didn't know what she'd do if he didn't return. She didn't know how she'd handle it.

Sarah's breathing started to grow quicker as the girl tried to restrain it, taking deep breaths and closing her eyes, "Sorry, I- I just need to-" Sarah cut herself off and turned around, sitting down onto the ground and pulling her knees up in front of her. Clementine took the chance to sit down across from her, giving her a reassuring smile as Sarah calmed down. Kirsten didn't know what to do, she'd never seen Sarah have a panic attack before. But she didn't need to do anything, really. Sarah managed to calm herself down and blurted out, "Wanna see what I found?" before crawling her way to the side of the bed.

Kirsten and Clementine stood up and followed the girl, watching her turn around with a pistol in her hand. "Will you show me how to use it? I couldn't find any bullets." She asks, motioning the gun towards the girls.

"How long have you been wanting to be taught?" Kirsten suspiciously asked, folding her arms.

"Ever since you started teaching me how to use your knife, I just didn't think you'd go as far as to teach me how to use a gun." Sarah replied, "If something's wrong, I should know. Nobody tells me anything." She frustratedly said.

Kirsten grinned as she looked down at the girl expectantly, "Hey, I'm all in for teaching you, but you know the deal." She says, grabbing the gun and checking the barrel. Her made sure there were no bullets like Sarah said, clicked the barrel back in, and handed it to the girl.

"I won't tell anyone, I promise." Sarah confirmed, looking down at Clementine, "Do you wanna help?"

Clementine agreed, "Okay... but it's not a toy." She assured her, pulling Sarah's hands into position. "First, remember; It's just a thing."

Sarah raised an eyebrow, "What does that mean?" She asked, tugging her hands closer to her face to look down the gun.

"Um... I don't know." The little girl trailed, looking up at Kirsten expectantly.

"I thought it'd be heavier..." Sarah stated, glancing up at Kirsten with a big smile. "Okay, what do I do?"

Kirsten grabbed Sarah's arms and extended them away from her face, repositioning her fingers on the gun. "Alright, to aim; you look down the top of the gun. Only place your finger on the trigger and pull it once you've aimed."

"Why do I need to do that?"

"So we don't have any accidental shootings," She replies, "Always aim for the head. If a person is trying to hurt you and they've got you in a bit of a jam, aim anywhere fatal and just keep shooting."

Sarah's face twisted uneasily, "I don't want to hurt anyone, though."

Kirsten folded her arms, "You only need to hurt the people trying to hurt you or someone in the group." She replies.

Sarah reluctantly nodded, switching back to a small grin and turning around. She points the gun towards Clementine and smiles, "What should I shoot?" She asks, confusedly watching Clementine duck down and yelp.

"Don't do that!" She yelled, glancing back up at Sarah cautiously.

"Don't aim the gun at anything you don't want dead." She informs the younger girl, "Treat every gun as if it's loaded and always keep the safety on. Don't rely on it fully, though. Keep the gun aimed towards the ground at all times."

"S-Sorry... I- I didn't mean it... Maybe I could practice outside?" She asked, turning around and walking over to the window. She leaned over the desk and eyed outside, "There's that tree... Hey! Luke's back!"

Kirsten's eyes brightened up as she bolted out of the bedroom with a smile, leaving Clementine with a grin and Sarah confused. Her feet pattered against the hardwood stairs and almost slipped as she got to the bottom, running through the living room and towards the front door. She was in the middle of the hallway when she heard a confusing noise.

**_KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!_**

Kirsten stopped dead in her tracks, her socks causing her to slide partially. She paused for a moment, almost frozen and looking up at the door cautiously. _Why would Luke be knocking door? _She asked herself, looking over her shoulder to see Sarah making her way up to the front door.

"Sarah, don't. It's not him." She whispers, her arm immediately holding the girl back.

"Hello?" The voice called out, clearly evident as a man. Not just any man, the worst man. The man Kirsten was dreading to see and the man who had lost them to these peaceful last few weeks.

"Fuck..." She breathed in fear, as Clementine found herself next to the two girls. "That's not Luke, Clem."

"Well, who is it?" She asks, peeking her head around Kirsten's body to see a black figure illuminated through the stained glass portion of the door.

Kirsten looked back, listening to yet another three knocks before turning around to Clementine. "It's that fucking asshole, Carver. He'll just find another way in if you lock the door," She informed, her eyes widening at the little girl as she grabbed onto Sarah's shoulders and turned her around. "You've gotta get him out of here for us." She pleaded, as Clementine nodded her head.

"Go and hide."

* * *

"I can hear him walk up the stairs!" Sarah whispered frantically, earning a hush from Kirsten as she covered the teenagers mouth.

"Keep quiet, okay? Take your time breathing," She assures the girl, removing her hand from Sarah's mouth and placing it in front of her. There was an agonizing pause for a few minutes, only Sarah's paced breathing could be heard. Kirsten couldn't believe it, Carver was in the cabin. Luke and the group were also no where to be seen. _Fuck... he couldn't have gotten them already, could he? Was he coming for Sarah and I now? _

Her thoughts vanished when the door creaked open, a leg stood in between the space from the door and the door frame and slowly made it's way into the room. Carver paced the bedroom, glancing around at the furniture as the little girl spoke.

"I told you, nobody's here." She hissed, folding her arms and glaring up at the man. He finally put his revolver into his holster and turned his head towards the girl.

"Seems that way," he replied, placing his hands on his hips. "Didn't mean to be rude. Couldn't just leave you here with a good conscience is someone was pokin' around, right?" He asked the little girl who still glared firmly at him.

Clementine didn't have a clue what most of those words meant, but decided to play along with it. "Sure..." She mumbled.

Carver felt done with his quest, taking a few steps towards the door before stopping in his tracks. He stood back a step and bent over, scaring the ever living hell out of Kirsten. But instead of catching the pair of girls and whipping out his gun, he picked up a one of the polaroids taken earlier and stood back up. He glanced down at it and grinned, turning it around to face Clementine, "Who's this?" He asked, watching the little girl's eyes widen in regret.

"Must be someone who lived here," She responds, playing herself off as casual as possible.

Carver smirks, letting go of the polaroid and paying no attention to it fluttering onto the ground, right in front of Kirsten's eyes. "Must be," He says, before pausing. He stared at the little girl in silence before placing his hands on his hips again, "You have no idea who these people are, do you?" He asks her, causing Kirsten to tense up more than before. Kirsten feared that if he could realize that Clementine was with the group, then he could realize that her and Sarah were under the bed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Clementine bluntly replied, her arms folded tightly as she continues to keep her eyes on the man.

"Lemme ask you this. When you met 'em, how much did they trust you?" He asked.

Clementine grimaced, "What's your point?" She retorted.

"My point is, if people can't trust you, how can you trust them?" He asked her, folding his arms and glancing down at the girl. Clementine stood silently, the silence was eating Kirsten alive. She felt so suspenseful, she could bust at any moment. That is until Carver broke the biting silence, "Well, it looks like I've troubled you long enough. I can let myself out," He insists, pushing past the little girl and exiting the room. Clementine stood silent as he walked down the stairs and through the living room. "You have a real good day, now." He assured her before leaving the cabin.

Kirsten slowly rolled out from under the bed and stood up, brushing off the dust from her clothes as Sarah mimicked her. "Fuck, that was close..." She breathed in a small panic, now relieved from the suspense of trying not to be caught.

"W- What if he comes back?" Sarah asked Kirsten in a frightened tone of voice, her fists tucked under her chin. Kirsten glanced over worryingly towards Clementine who returned the look.

She sighed, "...I don't know."

* * *

The trio of girls silently sat on the couch, thinking aimlessly about their worries. Kirsten couldn't take it anymore. It had been twenty minutes since Carver left, leaving her to think that his motive wasn't to catch them right now. _Maybe he hasn't got them... _She thought, _It just wouldn't make sense._

"That's it, we're going to find them." Kirsten ordered, standing up from the couch and making her way over to the kitchen door.

"But what if they come back and we're not here?" Clementine asked, following Kirsten to the kitchen door and stopping her. "I know you want to find them, but we need to think about this." She tried to reason with the woman as Sarah ran up to them, but Kirsten just couldn't buy into it.

"I'm sorry, but I need to get out there. I can't just sit here while they're out there risking their lives to find each other." Kirsten pushed the kitchen door open as Clementine followed closely. The girls watched the back door swing open and Kirsten immediately stopped walking.

"Clementine!"

Kirsten ran forward and pushed herself into Luke's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her head into the curve of his shoulder. "Thank God you're okay," She said gratefully, tightening her grip on him as he smiled and wrapped his arms around her frame. He hugged her silently, but was slightly bothered about the whereabouts of his best friend. He released his grip as she did. Kirsten looked around at the group members flooding into the cabin; Luke, Carlos, Rebecca and Alvin were all there, but Nick wasn't in sight.

"Dad!" Sarah exclaimed, running into her fathers arms with a big smile. Carlos took no time to talk and held onto his daughter tightly.

Luke turned to Clementine and walked up to her expectantly, "You were with Nick, right? We gotta go find him," He insists, as Clementine gives the man a nod.

"Wait," Kirsten interrupted, "You couldn't find him?" She asked, as the group collectively shook their heads. She took a breath in before continuing, "Look, I don't want you all to freak out, but Carver came to the cabin."

Rebecca's eyes widened in fear, "What did you just say?!" She blurted out in panic as Alvin tried to hush her down, "You're not telling me he _came_ into the cabin are you?"

Kirsten folded her arms, "He was going to find a way in no matter what, locking the door wouldn't of have done anything." She informs the woman. Rebecca raised a hand to her mouth in worry as she turned to face Alvin.

Sarah looked down at her feet as she was too afraid to look at her father, "He saw a picture of me..." she mumbled.

Carlos's face and voice completely enraged, "A picture?!" he shouted, turning around to his daughter with a daggering glare. "What were you doing taking pictures?!"

Luke squeezed Kirsten's arm as he saw her narrow her eyes at Carlos, shaking his head at her as soon as she looked up. Kirsten understood how much trouble that picture got the group in, but she can't just stand there and let Carlos go off at his daughter for being a kid. No one would have thought Carver would find the picture. Luke folded his arms and took a few steps forward, "Carlos. You need to calm down, okay? You're scaring your daughter." He informed, as Carlos clenched his fists and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down.

Carlos took a deep breath in before looking back towards the group, "He was scouting," he said. "We got lucky, he wasn't expecting to find us. Clementine must've surprised him, if she hadn't of been there..." Carlos closed his eyes and faced away from his daughter. The group expectantly looked over to Clementine before Carlos spoke again, "Well, he was too smart to stick around. But he'll be back with the rest. We don't have much time."

Kirsten folded her arms, looking up at Luke as Carlos looked down at his daughter. "So I guess we should get going then?" She asked, as Luke nodded his head.

"You're right." He concluded, "Everybody pack up, we're movin' out."

* * *

It had been an hour since Carver appeared at the cabin. The group had set out on their journey to find Nick and get the hell out of the area, leaving the cozy cabin they grew so accustomed to. Kirsten's worrying decreased quite a fair bit once the group made a small amount of distance from the cabin. Her sights were set on finding Nick and heading up north. The more she thought about Wellington, the more she declared it as a pipedream. The only reason why she didn't tell her feelings about it to the group was because she really did have no idea if it was real or not. And if it was, then she needed to check if her Dad was there.

She didn't even know if he was alive - let alone at a camp that may or may not exist. Kirsten thought about how far she'd really go to find him until giving up. Survival instinct was kicking into her again, and just in time. Most of the times she thought about her father was when she was in a safe environment. Now that she's out in the wilderness again, these thoughts are maturing in her head. Was she really even going to find her father? Was he even in this state? The country? She was finally realizing how far of a fetch the issue was. So she made a compromise with herself; As she goes along, she'll look. But she won't fully set out and devote her to time finding him. She had a group to look out for (since looking out for herself seemed like a piece of cake), and a little girl she had to get to know and make feel welcomed, too.

"Now you said it was just up here?" Luke asked the smaller girl beside him, motioning his hand in the north direction as she began to fall back a little.

Clementine nodded, "Yeah, just a little ways." She informed, just before Rebecca sped up a little to initiate conversation with her.

Luke noticed Kirsten acting a little strange ever since they left the cabin. She walked, her head facing towards the ground as one of her hands were placed firmly on the grip of her knife. He looked towards her, "You okay? You haven't spoke that much since we left."

Kirsten gave him a little side glance before responding, "Yeah. Just letting my mind run its course."

Luke paused for a moment, "Want to talk about?" He asked, turning his head towards her.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Not really."

She gave him a small grin before letting it fade, her head turned up to him and her eyes focused. "When Carver was at the door, I didn't react how I really would have," she explained, "I wouldn't have panicked about it, but I did. And I don't get why. Under pressure, I do so well, but when I saw his shadow through the door, I almost froze until Sarah almost opened the door to her doom." She tells him, watching him occasionally nod at her.

Luke shrugged, "Being in the cabin for so long sure did a number on me. You've probably gotten used to being safe for the past few weeks that your mind's just trying to adjust to the outside again." But this couldn't be true, Kirsten never felt safe. She was always still alert, but maybe not enough.

Her face scrunched up as she shook her head in disagreement, "I can't bring myself to feel safe anymore, no matter where I am. Maybe... Maybe it's a subconscious thing?"

"Hey," He began his attempt to calm her down, "Carver didn't catch you. As long as you're here with us and breathin', then I ain't fussin'." He told her, smiling down at her as she gave him a half grin. "Right now, we gotta focus on gettin' Nick and gettin' out of this area. Can you do that for me?" He asked, lowering his head a little to catch her eyes. She mentally agreed with him and nodded with a stiff smile, soon her eyes catching Clementine drifting onto another path.

Kirsten and Luke turned around and followed the girl. Luke's expression became unexpectedly hard, his eyebrows furrowed as his eyes narrowed towards the cellar that held either his best friend... or something else. The corpses of the undead were scattered across small area, only a few reanimated ones were left. Kirsten looked down at the broken jar that had died blood on it, barely being able to make out the label that read "whiskey."

"There, that's where we were..." Clementine informed the pair who strayed away from the group as they stayed on the main path, pointing her finger towards the brick cellar.

Luke swung out his machete as Kirsten pulled her knife out of her holster. They both made their way up to one of the undead and took them each out with one blow to the skull, leaving a small drizzle of blood on Kirsten's hands. She yanked her knife out and wiped the blood off it using her pants, looking up she saw Luke jog over to the biter sitting down in front of the cellar doors. He dug his weapon into its head and pulled it forward, letting Clementine push it over as Kirsten just made her way up to the door.

"Nick?" Luke called out, glancing back over at the doors. A sudden groan sounded from inside the cellar, causing Luke to get a little uneasy. "Kirst, get the door," he ordered, machete still in hand. Clementine stepped back and out of the way for Kirsten to grab onto one of the handles. She held her knife up reluctantly, getting ready to stab anything that wasn't Nick in her way. She slowly began to pull the door towards her, her head peeking through the gap she created.

But nothing was there.

She looked around with her eyes a little more behind glancing back over to Luke and shaking her head. He raised an eyebrow, pushing the other door open and walking in cautiously. Luke's eyes widened as they set on a figure on the ground, resulting in Kirsten taking a few steps forward inside the cellar. Nick laid on the ground, small mumbles and groans escaped his lips as he began to sit up.

He emptily looked up at Luke, his eyelids were heavy as they weakly tried to adjust to the light shining through the open doors. "Hey, man... You got any aspirin?" He asked with a crooked grin.

Kirsten breathed a sigh of relief as she planted a hand onto her forehead, "Goddamn it, Nick." She exclaimed, "You look like shit."

Luke grinned, "Nick, you asshole." He said, making his way up to him and extending an arm. Once Nick failed to grab it, Luke walked behind him and latched onto his arm, grabbing the rest of his frame and pulling him onto his feet. Kirsten walked up to the man and placed her hand onto his shoulder, causing him to sadly look down at her before glancing back up at his best friend.

Luke pulled him into a hug as Nick covered his blood-shot eyes with his hands, he sobbed. "Pete's dead..."

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**A/N: Such a shitty ending to the chapter, I know. And I'm sorry. But hey, at least it was longer, right? Now let's go over some reviews!**

**Gingerman454: **Take as long as you want, your story is great anyway so it's waiting for. Love your work and good luck with the outside world (it is a bit of a b**** sometimes)

**Thanks so much for the review! I'm glad you love my work, that means so much to me oh myyyyy. And indeed it is, haha.**

**Bubbles2k100: **Yessss! I love how Kirsten got Carlos thinking 'bout how Clem being Sarah's friend will benefit them both :) And I'm super curious as to what's going to happen next that didn't happen in the first post of this fic xDD I FRIKIN' LOVE THIS FIC! AHHHHHH *dies*

**oh my goshh? thank you! I'm so glad you liked it. Hopefully Carlos can come to realize the danger he's putting his daughter in, right? c: Thanks for the review!**

**Denn00: **woah the last time I checked this it was the first chapter and I cant believe its gone up to chapter 12 already ! I hope you dont mind the incoming reviews for the next chapters !

I thought this chapter was really cool but kind of sad at the end :(( it was great none the less !

**Oh, I definitely won't mind the incoming reviews. Trust me, haha. I'm so glad you liked the chapter! Thanks for reviewing!**

**Margyri: **OMG so you won't believe this, but - both of my computers broke, too XD I thought that was kind of funny. I haven't been able to fix either of mine, but I got a temporary mini laptop, so I will FINALLY be rewriting my fic TONIGHT. But of course I had to read yours first! Anyway, awesome chapter - as always. I hope you get your laptops fixed soon - I feel your pain, it sucks not being able to write. And I hope you like my new version of Amid the Ruins :D

**Holy crap, what a coincidence. I'm actually so pumped for the rewritten version of your fic! And I'm so like? honoured? that you took time to read my fic before rewriting, that actually makes me so happy bless your soul omg. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Okie dokie, that's it for honourable mentions! I know I said I was going to do 6, but I'm feeling kind of tired and just want to get something for you guys to read out there and published. **

**Other than that, thanks for reading and don't forget to leave your review for the next honourable mentions!**

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**\+ Fixed dialogue in first scene (because I'm a fuckin' noob at guns lmao fight me)**


	14. Tying Loose Ends

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for almost being a month late, but thanks for the reviews last chapter. Happy reading!**

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**3:00AM **

She stared densely at the crackling fire in front of her, it's weak yet bright flames offered enough light for Kirsten to see the pebbles and twigs near the stone surrounded fire. Her eyes slightly squinted at it's illuminance, followed by the light blowing of wind that blew the heat into her face. She'd been keeping watch for a few hours now, and by every minute it just seemed to get colder. It was the early stages of winter, time was ticking slowly as the days rolled through December. She didn't know the exact date, she stopped counting the painful twenty-four hours after three months into the outbreak.

Some days seemed harder than others, and today was surely one of those days. She woke up to bad news of Pete dying, almost opened the door to her doom when she mistook Carver for Luke, had to be forced out of the cabin, and was put on a thirteen hour walk to find mountains. Today was an _extremely _hard day.

Her eyes trailed over to the orange sleeping bag that Nick laid inside of, surrounded by the rest of the sleeping bags that the group slept on. She could tell that he was wide awake since she didn't hear his usual snoring. She couldn't blame him for not being able to fall asleep, another death in his family happened, and so soon after his mother. Kirsten wondered how much it'd alter Nick's personality, and how fast it would.

After the death of her sister, she spent a few days silently sulking to herself, eating away at her mind by thinking of ways that she could have saved her, thinking about how she should have said goodbye, or maybe even died with her. But those few days alone taught her that if she wanted to survive, she couldn't torture herself anymore. She couldn't keep thinking that a person is what should be making you fight for your life everyday. But those thoughts taught her wrong. Very wrong.

Luke showed her how wrong it was when she was about to make one of the biggest mistakes in her life. He helped her see clearly. And sometimes, just sometimes, she tries to find ways to repay him. Like giving him the rest of her food when she's done, or filling his water canteen when he was too tired to even leave the cabin. ...Or maybe locking lips with him when he's least expecting it. Although that one wasn't really what she had in mind when she thought of ways to repay him. She pulled a wild card that night, and she kind of liked it. She doesn't doubt that he did too.

Kirsten's running thoughts came to a halt when she heard the continuous rustles from the left of her. She darted her eyes towards a tossing and turning Clementine who held onto her hat with her hands. The more she stared at her, the more she felt sorry for the girl. Sorry for all that she went through during the last couple days, or, as a matter of fact, the last couple years. It must have been more brutal towards a small girl than towards an older woman.

"Clem?" Kirsten whispered, leaning over on her hands and tapping Clementine's foot. "Are you okay?" She asked, leaning back into her original position.

Clementine lifted her head up and darted her eyes towards the older woman, her scruffy, curled hair sticking outwards. She began to sit up, shaking her head as she placed her hat on her head. "I just can't sleep," she told her.

Kirsten patted the gravel next to her in hopes that the young girl would follow through. Clementine crawled away from her sleeping bag and towards Kirsten where she brushed against Luke's foot, sitting directly in front of his sleeping bag. "Now, I'm gonna need you to help keep me awake right now because I'm ready to collapse right here," she giggled.

Clementine tugged the corner of her lips, forming a small smile. "Sure. Do I ask you questions or something?" She asked.

Kirsten shrugged her shoulders, maintaining a low voice, "If you'd like."

She nodded, pulling her knees up and crossing her arms over them, "Okay, how old are you?" She asked, turning her head towards the woman.

Kirsten huffed with a grin, "Twenty-four. And I'm going to assume you're still eleven? Or did you magically turn eighteen today?" She sarcastically said with a grin, earning a small smile from Clementine.

"No, I'm still eleven," she replies, half smiled.

Kirsten's grin soon fades as the recurring thought bumped back into her head. It looked like Clementine had been through a lot, but how much had she actually been through? She looked towards the younger girl, "Tell me how you started, Clem."

Clementine's eyes perked up to her, "Started what?" She asks.

"All of this," she continues, "How did all of this start for you?" Clementine's eyes drift towards the ground as she moved her feet across the gravel, her already wrapped arms squeezed tighter around her knees as she exhaled. "You don't need to if you don't want to," Kirsten assured her.

Clementine shook her head, "I want to. Sometimes we need to let it all out," she replied. Kirsten nodded her head as the girl began to speak. "My Mom and Dad went on a trip to Savannah every year, and every year they came back. Sometimes with a souvenir or a toy, but this time, they didn't come back at all. I was with my babysitter for a couple of days before she got bit." Clementine's eyes drifted away as she paused for a moment. "There was a man in the forest who got in a car crash. He found me and told me that he'd take care of me until I found my parents."

Kirsten looked down towards the gravel as she spoke, "Did he do that?" she asked.

Clementine nodded, exhaling once again. "We went to Savannah to look for a boat, but I ended up running away from the group when this man lied about knowing my parents. I was just... a stupid kid. The man in the forest got bitten while trying to save me, and I..." Clementine's eyes shut closed tightly, her head tilting away from the fire that illuminated her face as she breathed out. "If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be alive."

Kirsten's face turned into a look of sympathy as she placed her hand on the little girl's shoulder. "He sounded like a great guy, Clementine. What was his name?" She asked, letting the girl regain her composure and turning around back to her.

"His name was Lee," she replied. Immediately, the thought of her uncle popped into her head, and she couldn't help but smile.

Kirsten turned towards the girl more, "My aunt was married to a man named Lee. He was a good guy too, but things got complicated for him and he did something that wasn't like him. Sometimes it even hurts to think of my aunt because of what she did to him." She narrowed her eyebrows, "Needless to say, the senator she slept with deserved what he got," she snarled. Clementine's head perked up towards Kirsten in realization, and Kirsten's immediate reaction was to apologize. "Oh, sorry. You shouldn't hear stuff like that."

Clementine shook her head, "Was your uncle on his way to prison because of what he did?" She asked.

Kirsten's facial expression sunk just as Clementine's did, the realization both hit them like a ton of bricks. As Clementine grew older, she understood what had happened between Lee and his wife, given the information he gave her. She put all the pieces of the puzzle together in her head, as she'd normally do. "You don't think that...? Lee was...?" The younger girl's head started to slump down as she was Kirsten hit reality. "Fuck..." She whispered to herself, turning around towards the fire.

Clementine's eyes sunk down towards the ground as her eyebrows furrowed, tears beginning to well slowly in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Kirsten... I just wanted to see my parents..." Clementine's voice trembled, she sat physically able to look back up at the older woman.

Kirsten couldn't blame the girl, and as a matter of fact, Clementine did that enough herself. The sudden shock and realization of this stunned her, it put her into a small paralyzation where she couldn't move for a moment. Of course she's had close ones die before, but she just couldn't imagine him being dead. Lee was another person to kick off the missing list.

She shook her head, averting her eyes from the ground and towards a teary eyed Clementine. "Clem, no, don't... don't cry. Please," she pleaded, extending out her arm and placing her hand on her shoulder, "You can't let that eat away at you. It'll tear you apart." She told her, but a cold, sorrowful weep escaped Clementine's lips in response. Kirsten was starting to feel the pain radiating off of the young girl, and she did the only thing she felt was the right thing to do.

Kirsten pulled the girl closer to her and wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her tightly as Clementine silently weeped into Kirsten's shoulder. Her tears trickled down her cheek and onto the older woman's shirt, creating a small damp spot on her clothes. From the corner of her eye, Kirsten saw an awoken Luke sit up on one of his elbows as he rubbed his eyes. _Damn, he's a light sleeper._

Luke didn't speak, but raised a hand towards Clementine in confusion. And soon enough, Nick gloomily rose from his sleeping bag, examining the situation with weak eyes.

"Clem...?" Kirsten uttered, slowly pulling the little girl away from her. "Clem, I think it's time you get some sleep, okay?" She insisted, as the little girl nodded her head in agreement. Clementine wiped her tears as Nick laid back down and Luke sat up fully, she had stopped crying. The younger girl crawled back to her sleeping bag where she then removed her hat and placed it down beside her, falling back into the position she was in before Kirsten alerted her. Kirsten felt a little guilty, she felt as if she shouldn't of asked her about her past, but how else would she have known that her uncle is dead? That he wasn't another person to go searching for?

"You okay?" Luke's voice caught her attention, she gave him a brief nod before he moved forward and next to her. "You don't seem okay," he told her, staring at lowered eyes.

"Yeah, it's just- just nothing." She replied, looking back up at his illuminated face. "You should get some sleep, we're up in a few hours."

Luke raised an eyebrow, "You forgetting somethin'?" He asked her, to which she gave him a puzzled look in return. "You need ya rest too, I can take the last few hours," he told her, before beginning to grin, "The last thing I want is needing to carry you for a few hours." It was true, she needed to be up and alert tomorrow for travelling. She couldn't do that with no rest under her belt, could she?

Kirsten raised an eyebrow at the man, "Oh please, that's all you'll want." She said with a menacing tone of voice, grinning as he forced an innocent shrug.

"Well if it weren't for the kids around, I'd probably do more than just—"

"No-no-no, no, you don't need to go any further," She exclaimed in a hush tone of voice, cutting him off with a raise of her hand. Luke grinned as she shook her head, trying to contain a laugh. She crawled over to the empty sleeping bag, lying down on her side as she adjusted her pillow a bit. She raised her head up once more to see him still grinning, her cheeks flushed as she placed her head back down with a grin she couldn't contain anymore.

"Quit being so gross..."

* * *

**7:00AM**

"Come on, dude. It doesn't take that long to piss, does it?"

Luke pulled up the zipper on his jeans, turning his head over his shoulder to glare at his best friend, "Well it don't take that long to get mauled to death if you don't keep it down," he hissed, turning around and walking up to Nick before they both walked down the graveled footpath.

"Yeah, yeah," he rolled his eyes, clutching onto his rifle a little tighter. "You get the chance to talk to Clem about last night?"

Luke shook his hand, placing his hands in his pockets with a confused and concerned look. "No... No, I didn't. I don't even know what happened. I only woke up to her crying." He replied, running his fingers through his hair. "What even happened?"

Nick sighs, keeping his head down towards the ground. "I didn't pay much attention to their conversation, just had a lot of stuff on my mind. Kirsten had an uncle that took care of Clem, and neither of 'em knew. Clem said she fucked up and he died because of her." He replied, looking up towards a shocked Luke.

His eyebrows raised with a jolt, his lips parting before he spoke. "You serious?" He asked, looking up at Nick with wide eyes. Nick nods his head before briefly scanning the area with a turn of his head. "She- uh, she still hasn't found her Dad yet. Think we'll be seeing him any time soon?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders with a pout of his bottom lip, "You think she'll go runnin' about trying to find him? It'd be a one in a million shot if did, anyways." He told him, letting his eyes wander about at the landscape in front of him. Luke wondered what Kirsten wanted to do about her father. What if the group _did _find him? What would he think of Luke? What would he think of his daughter _liking _Luke? Or worse, what would he do to Luke if he found out he had some sort of burning passion for his daughter? Nick looked down at Luke, "Why you askin' anyway?" he asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Luke's head snapped up towards Nick just as he spoke. He shook his head a little bit to get rid of the gnawing thoughts before letting his eyes trail back to in front of him. "Jus- Just wonderin', y'know?" He responded as casually he could. ...Which wasn't all that casual.

Nick's once confused face turned into a menacing expression, he looked down at his friend and nudged into his ribs, with a devious grin spreading across his face. Luke walked silently as he 'nonchalantly' looked away and into the forest. "You scared to shit, aren't you?" He asked, "You actually think we're gonna find this guy and he's gonna beat your ass for wanting to fuck his daughter—?"

"There's more to it than that, asshole." Luke replied, cutting his friend off with a glare. "I've got clue how this guy is— he could pull the trigger on me, or worse; on all of us. I- I mean— he could be a fuckin' psychopath and we wouldn't know shit. I don't even know what type of father he could be. He could hurt her, y'know?"

Nick looked down towards the ground in speculation before looking back at Luke, "Or he could be a totally normal guy, you don't know."

"In a world gone to shit like this? You still think there's a normal guy out there—? A normal _person? _Pfft, good luck tryin' to find one of those."

Nick narrowed his eyes towards Luke, "You tryin' to say you're not a normal guy? Hell, you're more normal than almost everyone else," he responded. Luke's eyes trailed off in disbelief as he kept walking, "I'm not kiddin', Luke."

"You think so?" He asked, "Because I feel like I'm goin' to fuck up at any moment now. Especially now with Carver on our tail, I don't how how I'm going to cope. At least Kirsten's doing an alright job of it so far." He replied.

Nick paused for a small moment, unable to respond to how Luke felt about his situation. "So how are you and her anyway?" He asked, turning his head towards him.

"I'm getting there," he responded. Luke's eyes narrowed at Nick as he took his hands out of his pockets, "And just so you know, I don't just wanna fuck her."

"Oh really?" He asked, the same devious grin spreading across his face, "Sure didn't sound like it last night. Sounded like you wanted to do something to her—"

"_When_ and _if _she's ready." Luke cut him off, beginning to slightly grin as the pair walked along. His grin grew bigger as he couldn't contain it, looking down at the gravel he walked on. "Not like she declined, anyway."

"There's the ego booster," Nick playfully retorted, as Luke huffed a small laugh. "In all seriousness, sounds like you really got somethin' for her." Luke lightly smiled. Oh, there was something for her alright. She didn't even have to speak a word to him, just looking at her made him feel like he could die a happy man. She meant a lot to him, even if she _did_ end up leaving the cabin that night. He wouldn't have forgotten about her, and he hopes that maybe she wouldn't have forgotten about him either. But he didn't need to think like that. She was here, with him, with the group, and relatively happier than before. Sure, she was still sarcastic and bitter at times, but he loved that about her. A lot of girls he met were either too nice or too negative. Kirsten didn't meet any of those type of labels. She was just... her.

"Yeah," Luke nodded, "yeah I do."

Nick paused for a moment, "She melt your heart away, dude?" He sarcastically asked, grinning as Luke's eyes narrowed into a small glare. "She your little ball of sunshine?"

"You can shut up now, Nick."

"Aw, come on. It was just gettin' fun."

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**A/N: Heya! Hope you liked the chapter. Time for some reviews, shall we?**

**Reystro: **I thought it was pretty funny hehe. But what?! Of course I would read your new chapter first! I was so excited when I logged on today and saw you'd updated again! Your fic gets me even more motivated to work on mine. I have terrible writers' block though, ugh. But I'm working on it - I promise! I was worried Kirsten was gonna blame her feeling of safety and the way she reacted to Carver on her feelings for Luke - phew. Poor Luke. I'm glad you're taking things slow between them though, it's a lot more realistic. It's tempting to jump into the fluffy stuff. I'll be anxiously awaiting chapter 14:]

BTW I know I've changed my username AGAIN. I can't decide between Margyri or Reystro - just wanted to add that in case you hadn't seen me use this username.

**Hope it wasn't that much of an anxious wait, because it's here! I'm glad that taking things slow seems more realistic, but I'm scared it might seem a little forced in the next few chapters because of what I have planned. And I can't really postpone it, since there's really no other time in the next episodes of the game- except for that _one _time, but I have something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT planned for that moment, which is not what happened in the previous version. So stay tuned for that tear jerker (hopefully). I can't wait for your fic to be re-written! You have all my support, don't be afraid to private message me if you need help!**

**TheWalkingDeadLuke: **Omg amazing chapter please update! Is there going to be rated M soon? Or in this story?

**Well, I'm not very experience in writing M scenes (trust me, I've tried). But I'll try to make it as close and heated to an M scene as I think I can go. There definitely will be- uh, "M associated" themes in the story. :) **

**XxClemClemxX: **EEEEEE! I'm SO HYPED! I love it

**Glad you love it! EEEE! I'm really hyped too!**

**So that's it for the HM's and I _really, really, really _hope you can leave a review for me! I'd still love me some of that criticism if ya got it. **

**Also, don't be afraid to kick my butt for almost taking A MONTH to update. Bad me. Bad, bad me. **

**Happy reading!**


	15. Thicker Than Water

**A/N: FINALLY, here's the chapter! Sorry it's taken almost two months, it's not acceptable. Please leave a review and definitely kick my butt for being inexcusably late? Thanks!  
**

**ALSO: This chapter takes a "next step" into new drama of sorts. So be sure to read it! I'm counting on you! It's also long, so I hope that makes up for the lateness.**

**Happy reading!**

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_"Finally cut and run, huh? Why am I not surprised? I warned you. I warned you not to follow him, and look where he's led you. But you're safe now. We're going home__... __As a family."_

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**THREE DAYS EARLIER**

It was late afternoon of day three, the walk to the mountains edged closer and closer by the hour. The constant encouragement and strict sleeping hours enforced by Kirsten to keep walking (all with good intention) earned the group two days to spare on the original five day trip. They'd managed to get to the mountains in almost half the time Luke predicted, and despite how exhausted, tired and jumpy they were, they couldn't have been more grateful that they have the opportunity to sleep with a roof over their heads at night. Carver was no where in sight, the groups had covered their tracks the entire time they were walking, and now all they had to do is get to the top of the mountains before nightfall.

The group slowly halted at the end of the forest, almost collectively breathing a sigh of relief as some sat down. Luke unfolded the map he carried on the journey as Clementine pulled her binoculars out of backpack. Kirsten peaked at the map from the side of Luke, tilting her head as her eyes scanned to find where they currently where.

Luke glanced up at Clementine as she climbed a nearby rock for a better view, and placed her binoculars to her eyes, "See anything?" He asked.

Alvin placed his hands into his pockets, looking towards Luke, "She better see somethin', we've been walkin' for damn near four days," he grumbled. Rebecca glanced up at her husband exhaustedly, wiping the sweat from her forehead as she shook her head with a small grin.

"There's a... 'lift' or something..." Clementine confusedly replied, edging her binoculars away from her face with a puzzled and narrowed look.

"Chair lift?" Luke asked, turning towards Kirsten, "Must be that ski resort," he told her.

Clementine raised the binoculars to her eyes and looked around, "There's the bridge," she pointed out.

"And does it look passable?"

"I think so."

"Good," Kirsten muttered, her eyes drifting off to her side. "Do you see the ski resort?" She asked.

Clementine nodded, "Is it really big?"

"Should be," Luke replied. Clementine removed her binoculars from her eyes and grunted as she hopped down from the boulder. Luke folded the map and ushered for Kirsten to turn around, he unzipped the backpack on her back and put the map inside before zipping it back up.

Carlos folded his arms as he looked over to Luke, "We have to cross that bridge, let's go," he told him.

Luke raised an eyebrow at the older man, "Hold on, now. We can't all go sprintin' across that thing, okay? If we get spotted out there, we're gonna be trapped." He informed him.

"Going around that lake will take too long."

"Right, but look... we've got no idea who's out there. I'm gonna sneak across and make sure it's clear before we bring the whole group over," Luke suggested. Kirsten didn't mind the idea, but she wouldn't allow him to go alone. Someone needed to watch his back as much as he was watching the groups' back.

Kirsten glanced up at him, placing her hand on her hip, "I'll come with you to watch your back," she told him.

Luke nodded as Carlos began to speak, "You think splitting up the group is a good idea?" He asked.

"I didn't say it was a _good _idea, but... it's better than riskin' everyone at once," he decided.

"What's your plan?" Alvin asked, gesturing his hand to Luke.

"Kirst and I can scoot low and slow, and make sure no one's waitin' for us on the other side." Luke informed, looking over to Kirsten for confirmation.

The woman glanced down at Clementine, folding her arms in the process. "We should take Clementine with us. If there _is _someone on the other side and they spot us, what are the odds that they'd shoot a kid?" Luke nodded in agreement, looking up at Carlos as he raised a wary eyebrow.

Carlos looked towards Luke, "Clementine should stay here, she's..."

"She's what?"

"She's just a little girl, Luke." He told him.

Kirsten felt almost insulted herself, would Carlos really underestimate or feel as if she shouldn't be out in the danger field after forcing her into it himself just a couple days ago? "She sewed up her own arm, are you trying to say she's unable to cross a bridge?"

Clementine's eyes narrowed towards the man as she folded her arms. "I can do it," she bitterly responded.

Luke turned his head over to Carlos, "See? No problem."

Nick sat up from the rock he was leaning against and spoke to Luke, "I can go too," he informed.

Kirsten shook her head, "You need to stay here and make sure we're not caught from behind. We hid our tracks well, but Carver could be following closely without us knowing." She stated, as Luke sadly looked away from his best friend.

Carlos shrugged off the small-talk from Nick and Kirsten and looked over to look skeptically, "I don't like this," he spat out.

Luke rolled his eyes as he began to walk away, "Yeah, well, when's the last time you liked anything, Carlos?"

Kirsten lightly smirked as Nick began to speak, "If somethin' happens, I'll cover you."

Luke stopped besides Clementine, glancing over his shoulder and towards Kirsten. She took off the backpack and placed it on the ground, she eased her hand onto the handle of her knife and began to catch up to the pair.

* * *

"You really think Carver's still over our shoulders or somethin'?"

Kirsten shrugged her shoulders although she knew Luke couldn't see her from way behind him, she tried to focus on her surroundings as she walked slowly along the bridge. The young woman figured that she should stay a bit far behind just incase they were caught from the back. She glanced down at the water fifty-feet below her, "I don't know anymore, I hope not." She responded, almost shouting, "Besides, do you really want Nick to be here while he's on edge after Pete? If he's going crazy, we're better off letting him go wild at Carver."

Luke shook his head, "He ain't goin' _crazy, _he's just doing things... carelessly. I just don't want him doing somethin' stupid and getting one of us killed." Kirsten glanced off to the side silently. He had moments of happiness, but they were growing even more rare as the days went by. Sometimes, Nick would just look motionless, like he'd given up. Those were the times Kirsten went ahead and spoke to him. "Pete was the last family member he had. I know ya can't stop the inevitable, but Nick's gotta feel like shit for leavin' him on a low note. He didn't even get to say goodbye, Kirsten. While that's eatin' him up, he won't be thinkin' straight for a while. I don't want that to affect you and the others."

"And to add on all this Carver bullshit, too? Of course he's gonna feel like crap. You need to speak to him about it, Luke," she insisted. "He's going to feel dislodged from the group if we just keep shoving him off to the side because we're scared of something he might or might not do. If you make him feel okay, eventually he'll be okay. He'll be grateful for it, too."

Luke sighed, running his hand down his face tiredly. "I'll get around to it, but for now, we need to focus," he told her. As the three continued to walk, Luke halted as he saw two biters near the broken down train-cart. Kirsten's head perked up once she heard Luke swear from a large distance away, soon snapping around at the sound of an undead snarl. Luke took out his machete while keeping an eye on Kirsten, noticing that she was going after the biter in the opposite direction. Kirsten reached for her knife but felt a stomach dropping emptiness in her holster.

Her knife was gone.

She looked down at her knife holster in terror. _Where the hell did it go? _She thought, spinning her head around as Luke called out her name.

He began to run towards her, realizing that she didn't even have a weapon to protect herself with. "Kirsten, stay away from it! I'm com―"

Kirsten watched with a dropped jaw as the wooden planks underneath Luke began to break, sending him down onto the metal beams underneath. "Luke!" She cried out, feeling her heart sink almost hopelessly. Clementine worriedly crouched down at the gaping hole while Luke tried to assure her that he was okay, but Kirsten took chase, not realizing she was running on the wood herself. As soon as she placed her foot onto one of the planks, it broke underneath her, sending her to the ground and leaving her leg dangling fifty-feet above water. "Fuck!" She cursed vulgarly, trying to yank her leg out of hole. She glanced back up to the sight of Clementine jabbing her hammer into her the knee of a biter, sending it down to the ground.

She heard the skin-crawling snarls again, turning her head around as far as she could, her eyes widened at the sight of the biter gaining on her. She couldn't just sit here and wait for her death, she had to do _something. _Kirsten began to frantically look around for a weapon, but to no avail did she find one. All she could find was empty cans and newspapers, there wasn't anything in her reach either. Once she felt like all hope was lost for a weapon, a shiny, silver blade caught her eye by the other half of the broken train cart that they had to crawl under. It was her knife.

She looked down at her leg and started to pull at it almost viciously until she heard the snarling growing louder. She could feel her leg become loose with every time she pulled, and sat down on the ground, beginning to pant in angst. She wrapped her hands around her thigh and pulled as hard as she could until the wood cracked, pulling her leg out of the hole and quickly crawling over to the steel part of the bridge.

She uneasily stood up and looked at the biter just inches away from her. As it almost tumbled on top of her before she grabbed it by its wrists and placed her foot on its chest. She began to pull at its decaying arms, the cracking sound of its arms settling uneasy in her stomach. As she continued to pull, she tried her best to aim its back over the edge of the bridge. Once she was positioned, she yanked as hard as she could and push her foot against its chest until its arms separated from its body. The rebound force pushed the biter over the edge of the bridge and into the water, leaving Kirsten with a small window of time to catch her breath, get her knife, and get to Luke.

She threw the rotten arms over the edge of the bridge and took a few seconds to catch her breath before running over to her knife (also being careful to stay on the steel edging) and grabbing it. She put it in her holster and ran past the hole she fell in and to the gaping hole Luke had fell through. By the time she got there, Clementine ran up to hole with a pole and crouched down, seeing a distressed Luke try to hold onto the steel beams. Kirsten mimicked the young girl, pushing her fringe behind her ears.

"Fuck, are you okay?" She asked in shock as she saw the cuts across Luke's face.

Luke nodded frantically, taking the pole from Clementine's hands, "I'm good, I'm good," he responded angstily, using the pole as a small platform to get himself up with. As he stood on the pole with one leg, he clasped his hands onto the steel beam that Kirsten and Clementine were standing on for support. Kirsten immediately grabbed one of his hands, stood up, and pulled him onto the beam. Luke sat on his knees, one hand on the beam and the other on his head as he caught his breath. Clementine wiped the sweat off her forehead as Kirsten knelt down to take a look at Luke's face.

"You're a bit cut up," she told him, using her hand to tilt his head as she looked over them.

Luke raised his hand to feel the painful cuts on his face, looking down at his fingers to see blood. With all the adrenaline he had, he didn't even realize the pain of the cuts on his face until the rush was gone. Overall, he was just glad no one else was hurt. He looked around the bridge and saw the hole in the wooden planks that Kirsten fell through, "Did you fall through?" He asked.

Kirsten shrugged minorly, "Just my leg went through," she told him. "But I'm fine, nothing dramatic."

Luke finally caught his breath and stood up, looking down at Clementine with furrowed eyebrows. "You okay, kid?" He asked, "You did good."

Clementine wiped the sweat from her forehead and nodded, "I'm okay," she told him. "We should check out the rest of the bridge."

The two adults nodded their heads in agreement and walked towards half of the broken train cart and moved the stray pieces of wood from the accident. Luke picked up his machete and gave a relieved sigh, glad that he didn't plummet to his death. Not only that, but relieved that no one was badly hurt, only a few bumps and scratches. Luke didn't know what he'd do if the wood actually caved in on Kirsten, or if Clementine got bitten fighting the biters. What was more daunting was what Kirsten would do if he _had _fallen fifty feet with her being stuck in the wood, unable to help him. _God, _he thought. He needed to stop thinking about it and just focus.

Clementine crawled underneath the train cart first, followed by Kirsten who held onto her knife by hand instead of holster, and then Luke. They stood back up, brushed themselves off, and began to wank again. Only a few steps forward, Luke put them at a halt, quickly placing his hand on his gun.

"You see him?" He asked, motioning his head in front of him.

Kirsten squinted her eyes at the figure walking towards them, a rifle in hand. This was where her defense instincts kicked in. He could be a murder, a psychopath, or one of Carver's men, despite never seeing him before. She tightly gripped onto her knife and glanced up at Luke from the corner of her eye, "I don't have my gun with me," she told him.

"Don't need it."

She looked up at him with her eyebrows creased together in discomfort, _was he crazy? _"Are you crazy? He's coming up to with a _rifle _in his hands, like hell I don't need one," she retorted.

He tilted his head towards her while still keeping his eyes on the person, "I've got mine, okay? You've gotta do the talking, I've got my eye on him," he told her. "Just act happy or somethin', don't come off as hostile."

She sighed, rolling her eyes, "Sure, I'll act like a little ball of naivety and hope I don't get taken advantage of," she sarcastically spoke. Ha, like hell she would. Just to get on the nerves of Luke, she decided to purposely be a jerk to the man once he came to them. Which probably wasn't the smartest idea, because it almost guaranteed her death, but she wouldn't take it that far... if she could help it.

"Atta girl."

Kirsten exhaled and turned her glance down at Clementine, folding her arms. "Don't say anything about the group, okay?" The little girl nodded in response.

The man kept walking until he was in hearing range, stopping around ten feet away. He hadn't pointed his rifle at the trio, which Kirsten thought was really odd. "Well?" The man prompted, "Who are you?"

Kirsten unfolded her arms and placed her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow at the man. "Who's asking?" She responded in a bitter tone of voice, earning a nudge in the ribs from Luke. "Ow- hey, alright, I'm sorry," she hissed at him, quietly.

"I am," the man responded.

"I'm Kirsten," she unwillingly introduced herself. "This is Luke and Clementine. We're a little lost out here," she lied, looking over to Luke slightly.

"Lost, huh?" The man replied, as he decided to walk further up to the trio. He scrutinized the small ground as he came closer, noticing the blood they were covered in. "Hmph, you guys don't look like assholes. Are you assholes?" He asked. The group confusedly looked towards him, narrowing their eyes. "No offense or anything, but you know how it is out here."

Clementine uneasily looked up at Luke who shrugged his shoulders, "You're the one holding a gun," she told him. Kirsten grinned at the little girl as the man began to step closer.

"Touché," he said, smiling down at Clementine. "Is this your daughter?" He asked, looking up at both Luke and Kirsten.

"Does she look like our daughter?" Kirsten asked, ill-mannered, as she raised an eyebrow at him. Luke gave her a deadpan glare as he shook his head, deciding that he was going to do the talking from now on.

"No, she ain't ours," Luke replied, looking back at the man. "We're just in need of a little help."

The man nodded, shaking off Kirsten's comment. "Help, huh? You guys heading north like everyone else?" He asked, jerking his rifle towards the back of him.

"'Everyone else?'"

The man nodded, "I see at least one group a day come through here, you all look the same. It's like the great migration of the dazed and confused."

Kirsten folded her arms in curiosity, "Come across any William Carver's lately?"

"Or George's," Clementine added.

The man thought for a moment, "No William Carver, and not lately but plenty of George's," he said. Kirsten mentally sighed in relief. "I gotta say, you three look like shit," he pointed out.

Kirsten raised her eyebrows, leaning on one hip. "Here I thought I looked adorable in blood," she sarcastically told him. Earning a small chuckle from the man as Luke grinned.

The man lowered his gun from a casual stance, "If you need food, I've got some canned stuff in that station back there," he offered, tilting his body to the small shack at the end of the bridge.

Luke cocked an eyebrow, glancing down at Kirsten suspiciously before looking back up to the man, "Well, that's- uh, awful nice of you... what's the catch?" He asked, raising his hands to his hips.

Kirsten found it odd, how could someone be so generous in times like this? Offering food to strangers - armed strangers that could potentially kill him, and being this close to said people? Was this guy out of his mind?

Kirsten looked up at Luke worriedly, shaking her head at him in disagreement.

"No catch, I've got plenty," the man replied.

Luke once again looked down at the woman, unknowing to who calls the shot in this situation. He didn't see the man as a threat at all, disregarding the gun at least. But knowing Kirsten felt uneasy about it boggled him, he didn't know why she was so quick to decline the offer. Luke saw no harm, but decided that he'd keep a good eye on the guy. "Well, alright then. Thank you," he accepted. Ignoring the glare from the girl beside him.

The man smiled, "Hey, no problem. Nice running into friendly faces out here," he said, "Like I said, I've got food and supplies back in the station, and if you... want..." The man's words began to trail and halt to a stop, his eyes widening in shock as he looked behind the group. "What the fuck, man?!" The man hissed angrily, raising his gun.

The group turned around and saw an armed Nick standing meters away, raising his firearm at the man in front of them. There was angst and panic written all over his face as his gun was shaking in his hands. It was Nick's breaking point. Kirsten immediately shouted after Nick to lower his gun, as the rest of them did, but he ceased to listen. The only idea to stop all this commotion that Kirsten had, was to reach for the man's gun so he didn't shoot Nick. Before she could even get a grip on the gun, she was brought down to the ground and shielded over. A loud bang slightly deafened the trio as the sound of gurgles faded into their hearing. Kirsten glanced up, as if the world around her was in slow motion. The man, swaying back and forth, held onto the bloody wound on his neck. She couldn't help but just watch as he began to teeter over the edge of the bridge, and eventually fall off, the world around her coming back to natural pace.

She immediately stood up and ran to the edge, scanning for the man's body in the water. She could feel her heart pound in her ears after she realized that he was no where to be seen. _He must have sunk... _She turned around to see a frustrated Luke storming up to his best friend, unknowing of what he was going to do or say. Nick's reply wouldn't have been any better, and it'd seemed now that Nick himself had finally snapped.

* * *

The group found themselves a couple steps further to a pleasant nights rest, finally making their way to the ski lodge. After the events on the bridge, Luke swore to Kirsten that he'd keep a better eye on Nick so another situation like it doesn't happen again. Carlos had a talk with both of the boys― well, _argument_, about stripping Nick of all firearms. Of course, Kirsten butted in and denied that it'd be an awful idea. Which resulted in a sneaky, hushed tone argument about his treatment of Sarah.

Most of the groups mentality was scattered all over the place. Rebecca was in a world of exhaustion, Alvin's cheery mood had thinned out over the passed three days they traveled, Kirsten felt more snappy and witty than usual, along with feeling more prone to frustration. Nick teetered over the edge not so long ago. And Luke, along with the rest of the group, had kept somewhat of a level head. After all the nonsense they went through for the past week, they were just glad it was finally over. With no traces of Carver and the low-count of biters they came across, they'd finally caught their break.

Rebecca heaved her heavy legs up the hill as she approached an alerted Nick and Carlos. She panted, her arms swinging from side to side as the scent of oncoming rain filled her lungs. "Well?" She asked, exhaling, "What are we waiting for?"

Carlos turned his head back to the pregnant woman as he crouched down beside the deck of the lodge, "We have to be careful," he replied.

Rebecca placed her hands on her hips, still panting as she stood, "Careful?" She asked. The remaining members of the group began to make their way to the top of the hill. "We've been on the road for three days, my back is _done _being careful," she announced.

The lodge was quiet, only the gushing wind and moving leaves could be heard besides the group's breathing. The lodge had been secured and boarded up by the windows, but was completely dark from the inside.

Alvin began to walk onto the deck with his hands in his pockets, peeking through the gaps in between the wood to see inside the lodge. "Doesn't look like anybody's home," he said, checking further down the wall of the lodge. As the group began to pile onto the deck, Alvin began to pull at the wooden boards on the windows. "Damn, nailed down tight... I'll check 'round front."

"I'll go with you," Carlos insisted, following the man around the corner of the lodge. Rebecca made herself as comfortable as she could get on the wooden benches while Sarah decided to sit down on the deck just in front of her. Nick scouted around the deck with his rifle in hand, occasionally starring off into the distance of the mountains as he'd walk.

Clementine took the time to appreciate the landscape that they just traveled. The leaves blowing from the harsh wind, the fog topped mountains, and the gloomy gray sky was what she set her eyes on. The day was coming to an end, a shaky one at that. Luke and Kirsten joined her as she leaned her arms on the barrier, mimicking her.

"It'd be good to know if anyone is actually back there, could probably get a better view from up top," Luke suggested, motioning to the tower that led to the chair-lifts. "You'd have an easier time gettin' up there," he told Clementine, "You feel like takin' a look?" He asked.

Kirsten turned to the man with a raised eyebrow, "Doesn't that seem a little dangerous?"

"We'll be at the bottom if she falls," he replied extra reassuringly. "I'm sure she'd have fun climbin' up there anyway, right Clementine?" He insisted, turning over to the little girl with a cheesy grin. "It'd be just like climbing a tree house."

Clementine gave Luke a deadpan look as she tilted her head up to him, "I had a tree house once," she told him.

"Well there you go."

Clementine paused, "I hated it."

"Oh," Luke muttered, easing himself off the barrier slowly. He glanced over to Kirsten as if he'd just stepped on thin ice, which caused her to shrug her shoulders, confused.

The three of them made their way to the tower which was a small distance away from the rest of the group. Kirsten shuddered as she approached the tall hunk of metal, imaging the pain from a fall that high down to a ground that hard.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked, looking over to the woman in confusion.

Kirsten turned to Luke briefly before glancing back up at the ladder through her lashes, "Heights."

Luke cracked a grin, "Well, jus' be glad it ain't you goin' up there," he assured her, gesturing down to Clementine. "Besides, you're a little more heavier to catch than Clem anyway." Her eyes lowered into a deadpan look as she turned around to see him smirking. He averted his eyes to Clementine as he gave her a prep-like talk before she climbed. "Just take it slow, I'll catch you if ya fall... Probably."

Clementine cautiously grabbed onto ladder and began to make her way up. "You better catch me," she told him in a threatening tone of voice.

"It's alright, I've got you."

As Clementine heaved herself up on each bar of the ladder, Kirsten couldn't help but notice how brave she's really been. And not to forget her progress with the group. Those thoughts were short lived when she remembered that she'd be able to sleep in a bed tonight. A warm, comfortable, and _real _bed. But she was soon pulled out of her safe thoughts when Clementine slipped on the ladder and went down a few bars.

"Woah, woah, woah―"

"Oh God―"

"You're fine, just look at me, okay? You're fine!" Luke assured her, holding out his arms just in case she fell down.

Clementine slowly opened her eyes, not even realizing she closed them. She glanced down at the two adults― more specifically Luke, and tightened her grip. "You look like an idiot," she told him, before looking back up the ladder.

Luke stood still, looking up at the child before narrowing his eyes at her. "J- Just climb the damn thing..."

Kirsten gave a grin to the little girl as she began to climb again. She'd made it to the top forced herself off the ladder and onto the platform. "Made it!" She called out, a crow scurrying away off the barrier as Clementine pulled out her binoculars.

"What do we see, Clem?" Kirsten asked, placing a hand on her hip. She was almost completely certain that Carver was _not _following them the entire time. They had been too fast and too good to be caught on their journey.

"I can see the bridge!" Clementine called out, shifting the binoculars else where as she searched. "There's the river..." She almost uttered, shaking the thought of the man falling from her head.

"Oh, shit―" Luke muttered, brushing past Kirsten and running up to the lodge.

Kirsten turned around and watched him run, "Wait, where are you―" She cut herself off as soon as she began to hear yelling from foreign voices, people she'd never heard before. She glanced back up at Clementine and cupped her hands around her mouth, "Clem, you gotta get down," she told her.

Clementine shoved her binoculars into her backpack and looked off the side of the barrier to see a small group of people she couldn't make out from this far. "Who are they?" She asked, much to Kirsten's confusion.

"Let's go find out."

Clementine took to the ladder and climbed down as fast but safe as she can, jumping off the last few bars and landing onto the ground in a heap. Kirsten began to take chase to Luke soon after Clementine reached the ground, slowing down at the deck and slowly pulling her gun out from the back of her pants. As she pushed a little further, she found herself adverting her attention to the scruffy looking man with a beard, pointing a rifle right between Nick's eyes. Next she noticed the man with the big build and potted stomach who seemed to be pleading with everyone to calm down and lower their weapons. Lastly, she looked towards a woman from an Indian decent with a silver nose stud and aqua jacket, asking who the group was and why they were here.

She tried to push herself further, but Luke wouldn't let her. He kept his arm against her chest, rendering her stuck in the middle of the group. Before Kirsten could even ask what was going on, Clementine's small hands pushed against her as she maneuvered her way through the crowd and to the center of attention without Luke noticing. Kirsten watched as the little girls eyes widened and jaw dropped.

"Kenny...?" Clementine gasped out, much to the groups surprise.

The scruffy looking man slowly lowered his rifle, his eyes settling on Clementine in awe. "Cl- Clementine...?" He muttered, rubbing his eyes as if he didn't believe what he was seeing.

Luke noticed Clementine was inching closer to the man, causing him to instinctively latch onto her arm, but she broke free and pushed herself into the mans arms. He stood there for a moment, trying to process what in the world he was seeing. "Wait, you know this guy?" He asked in shock.

The man with the potted stomach grinned, "I'll take that as a yes."

Kenny and Clementine separated from their hug, and the older man knelt down, placing a hand on her shoulder as they smiled at each other.

Behind herself, Kirsten heard a shotgun being cocked. _Not ours, _She thought to herself, referring to the group. She turned around fast, watching Carlos pull Sarah closer to him and out of the line of fire as she aimed the gun at a man who aimed a shotgun at her. But much to her knowledge, it wasn't an unnamed man with the intention of killing her and her group. It wasn't someone she'd just met, and it wasn't someone she would ever pull the trigger on. She slowly lowered her pistol, as did the man, and stared at him.

"Naw, Adrian, they're good," Kenny called out to him.

"N- No... Wh- What...?" Kirsten muttered out, taking a few steps forward to the man. Luke pushed himself past a few of the group members and stood behind Kirsten as he laid eyes on an older, male-like version of the woman in awe.

The man began to smile almost joyfully, dropping his shotgun on the ground as if he'd seen an angel from above. His eyes began to well up as he held out his arms for the young woman.

"I- It's me, kiddo. It's Dad."

* * *

**A/N: LOOK WHO IT IS! IT'S HER DAD! LOOK!** I'M ACTUALLY AS EXCITED AS YOU ARE. THIS UPS MY MOTIVATION BY LIKE 100%

Don't forget to review and tell me what you think about what the hell just happened, and also kick my butt for not updating in FOREVER.

Thanks for reading!


	16. On Our Hands

"Get me that box."

Kirsten pushed her fringe behind her ears and looked towards the right of her, "That one?" She asked, pointing her finger towards a half full _Save-Lots_ box. Her father stayed silent, lifting a couple of the boxes he stacked with a grunt. He glanced over at his daughter almost disappointingly before looking down at the box she pointed at and sighing. The young woman stood awkwardly, staring at her father as he readjusted the boxes in his hand. "You can't stay mad at me forever," she told him, folding her arms.

"You're right, I can't," he replied, looking his daughter in the eye. "But who's to say I can't try?"

* * *

**THREE DAYS EARLIER**

Kirsten bolted almost immediately to Adrian, his arms wrapping snugly around his daughter's figure as she squeezed him tightly. What were the odds of this even happening? All the times she'd thought about looking for her Dad, there was always a sub-conscious thought that she wouldn't even come close to finding him. And just when she'd forgotten all about him, there he was. Popping up in the middle of no where when she least expected it.

Not even Luke could comprehend what he was seeing. A few days ago he was sure that finding her father was a pipe dream, but his eyes are currently _not_ deceiving him. He noticed that Adrian looked almost exactly like his daughter if he didn't count the darker hair and obvious stubble. Luke didn't know what exactly he was feeling, panic because of her Dad or surprise that two group members found lost people.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Adrian admitted, holding onto his daughter tightly. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

Kirsten pulled away from her father, only to show herself tearful and smiley. "Me neither... Th― This doesn't feel real," she said, wiping her eyes with her palm.

Adrian grinned, "It's not real. You're dreaming," he told her. "You're asleep right now."

Kirsten's happiness soon burnt out once she heard those words, she began to stutter. "Wh― I..."

"I'm just kidding," he admitted. "This isn't a dream, I'm right here." Kirsten soon enough felt the joy of her fathers humor again and pulled herself in for another brief hug.

Nick leaned over to Luke's shoulder, keeping his eyes on Adrian as he grinned, "See, old man ain't so bad," he said with a hint of wit. Luke couldn't even respond with his jaw figuratively dropped to the ground, he was far into disbelief. He felt like he was caught with his pants down, as if finding her father was a big whole joke that Nick and some friends pulled on him. But no, this was real. No matter how many times Luke squinted his eyes, trying to comprehend what was going on, no matter how much he shook his head, it was one-hundred percent real.

Kenny rose from his knelt down position and jerked his thumb in the direction of the lodge, "We can talk inside," he proposed.

"Great, I just started dinner," the large man announced, a cheesy-like grin spread across his face as if he was glad to have company.

Adrian pulled away from his daughter and looked around at the group she brought with her, expecting his other daughter to be hiding somewhere within the group unaware as to what was happening. "Where's your sister?" He asked, his hands resting on her shoulders. Kirsten looked away from her father in sadness, hanging her eyes low as she clutched onto one of her arms uncomfortably. Adrian took the hint and sighed, "We can talk about it inside, I don't want to be out here too long before we start drawing unwanted company."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Carlos politely asked, looking down at his smiling daughter as she bounced in one spot.

The large man nodded immediately, "It's going to storm soon. Please, come in."

* * *

Adrian sped up his last couple of steps as he made it to the double doors of the lodge, pulling open the door, he held it for everyone until they walked in. Kirsten was glad that her father hadn't lost his general character. He was still a kind yet strict soul, set hard in his own ways. Luckily, his ways were so accepting and open-minded. Being a police officer and all, the world was such a big yet small change to him. At least before all this, criminals would stab him from the front. These days, you're lucky enough to see the knife coming. Anyone could turn on you. No matter what your relationship is with people. Whether it's your family, your friends or co-workers. Anyone_ can _and_ will _turn on you.

As the group filled into the foyer of the lodge, they couldn't help but notice the size of the entire place. It was huge with thick, wooden pillars supporting the roof and upstairs area. Banners with flags of every country were stringed across the pillars along with Christmas lights and, well, a Christmas tree. Right now, _this _was the luxury. All electrical power was powered by the gigantic wind turbine outside, which was explained by the large jolly man who kind of reminded Kirsten of Santa.

"Walter here is one smart sonuvabitch," Kenny smirked, patting Walter on the back. "Makes a mean can of beans, too."

"Heh, you can say that again. I'm still drooling over lunch," Adrian admitted, letting the door shut behind him as he made his way up the stairs of the foyer. Walter shook off the compliments with a smile and asked everyone else to make their selves at home. But of course, it wasn't as easy as Walter had hoped.

Rebecca glanced over to the benches that Walter insisted they dropped their weapons on, and shook her head. "The hell we will," she snarled.

"Yeah, I'm holdin' onto my rifle. Thanks," Nick responded.

Luke looked over to Kirsten who was already looking over at him, and shrugged his shoulders. Kirsten switched her gaze over to her father who was expectant of her, glancing down at the knife in her thigh holster.

"You're our guests here, there's no need to worry," Walter pressed on.

Nick glanced at the rifle in Kenny's hands, and back up at Walter, "Tell him to put his gun down, then."

"Wait a minute," Kirsten paused, looking around at everyone. She looked back up at Walter and began to talk, "Now I'm going to assume that no one's going to pull the trigger on anyone tonight, and that we can all act like responsible adults. But guests or not, we don't know who you people are. And we'll be a lot more comfortable holding onto our weapons."

"And I can completely understand that, of course," Walter replied, "but you're in no harm here. Your father can assure you of that," he said, looking over to Adrian expectantly with a smile. With a nod of his head, Adrian very well have convinced his daughter. "See? There's nothing to worry about. You're safe here."

Even after a small discussion of the matter, no one moved a muscle. Kirsten rolled her eyes before looking over to Luke once again, who sighed and nodded his head. They both simultaneously walked over to the bench and removed their weapons from their holsters and placed them down.

Kirsten looked over to Clementine and motioned her over to the bench, "Clem?" She signaled, as the little girl mimicked her actions and put down her backpack.

Kenny suspiciously laid his eyes on Kirsten, trying to figure out how close Clementine was with the younger woman in order for her to do that. Adrian was momentarily blacked out as he wondered why both Kirsten and the guy with 'the surprisingly good looking hair' had decided to put their weapons down at the same time. Were they the leaders of this little group? Was _he _the leader? Adrian broke his thoughts and glanced over at Kenny, signalling him to place down his weapons too. The bearded man reluctantly stepped down and placed his rifle down on the bench, along with Adrian who placed down his shotgun. Soon, the group had followed through and placed their weapons down on the bench.

The double doors had opened again, and the remaining group members along with the woman with the nose stud entered the lodge. To Sarah's excitement, she bounced up and down as her eyes lit up when she laid them on the glowing Christmas tree.

Sarah gasped, "Look Dad, a Christmas tree!" She alerted, pointing towards it awe.

The woman smiled down at Sarah as she looked over at the Christmas tree, "Isn't it great?" She asked, "We found it all in storage."

"It's amazing!"

Walter smiled as he turned to the group and announced that he was going to continue with dinner and walked away. The woman with the nose stud, who Kenny addressed as Sarita, volunteered to show the rest of the group where they'd be sleeping for the night, while Kenny had dragged Clementine along to the fireplace where they could catch up.

"Hey, kiddo, come with me," Adrian insisted, latching onto his daughter's arm and pulling her away from the dispersing group. His mannerisms reminded the young woman that her father still had the nature of a police officer, also that he hadn't changed in two years.

"Where are we going?" She asked, lowering her arm as her father let go.

The two of them began to walk side by side with Adrian leading. "Just for a walk," he responded. "I... I also want to know what happened to your sister. I don't think I could live without closure."

Kirsten reluctantly looked down as she folded her arms, "I― I don't wanna go there, but I..." She exhaled, "I guess I've got to."

Adrian sadly looked towards his daughter, "I don't mean to push you, kiddo. I'm sorry," he apologized, wrapping his arm around his daughter's shoulders briefly before letting them fall to his side again.

She sighed, knowing that she had to come back to the moment sooner or later. She just didn't think now would be the time, nor was she quite ready to address what happened to her sister that night... and how it took a toll on her. But this was her father she was speaking to, she wouldn't have to tell anyone about it again unless she wanted to. "Well, we'd been stuck in the woods for a couple of days. There wasn't much food left, and we'd been on high alert after we kept running into those biters."

"Is that what you call 'em?" Adrian asked, smirking, "Biters?"

"Well, what do you call them?"

"Walkers."

Kirsten huffed as she smiled, but the thought of having to continue the story deteriorated her smile. "Anyway, um... I wasn't sleeping soundly much around that time," she confessed, pushing her fringe behind her ears. "Not that I ever these days, but, y'know. I wasn't sleeping well, so I was always tired when I stayed up for watch. One night I was... extremely tired. We set up camp in an opening and lit a small fire, I could barely keep my eyes open... And that's when it happened." Kirsten paused, looking up at her father reluctantly. He motioned for her to follow him through the double doors and outside. He grabbed his shotgun and she continued as they both began to walk around the lodge.

"From the moment I closed my eyes, I― I _swear _that it was silent and I thought that we were okay. Then I..." She exhaled, "I heard her scream. And that― that _stupid fucker_ got her on the shoulder before I could even pull my knife out... Soon enough, there was more and they separated us. She went one way, I went another. I looked _everywhere _for her for the rest of the night." She paused, "And eventually... I found her. It was around dawn, and I was so happy, but... she was turning already. I was in denial, I told her "there's another way, you're gonna get a second chance..." Pfft― not even I believed myself. She just― left me... laying in my arms, as if she drifted right off to _sleep..._ just before I could even say goodbye. I kept her laying with me... just― she looked so peaceful. I didn't want to do anything to her, but I didn't want her to turn. So I chose the only choice I could... and I made sure she didn't wake up... and she stayed _asleep forever._"

Kirsten found it odd that she wasn't crying, she wasn't even teary eyed. She somehow gotten through telling the hardest story of her life without shedding a single tear. It was almost like it was make-believe. She was waiting any moment now to wake up, but instead, she heard her father's voice.

"That's... _wow. _I... I am so sorry you had to endure that, baby. I just― I'm sorry I wasn't there... I should have been protecting you both―"

"It's my fault," she blurted. "I shouldn't of let myself fall asleep."

Adrian shook his head at his daughter, "No, don't you ever go blaming yourself for something you couldn't stop. It... As hard as it is to admit, it was her time to go. And― And I know that the only person you had at the time being taken from you hurts a lot, but you should be grateful that she doesn't have to put up with this sick and twisted shit-hole anymore. She's where she's supposed to be. With Mom."

Kirsten slowly nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah... yeah, you're right. I'm sorry," she apologized, bringing herself and father to a halt.

Adrian let a smile slowly grow on him as he opened his arms up to his daughter, "C'mere, kiddo." Kirsten let her father take her into his arms as she nuzzled into his chest. He inhaled before sighing loudly, squeezing his daughter tightly. "Well, I can tell you about what's been going on on my side," he insisted.

"Which is?"

"Absolutely nothing."

Kirsten chuckled, releasing from the hug. "Where were you when this started? Claire and I went to the station but you weren't there."

Adrian began to walk again, which prompted Kirsten to do the same. "I was being called to go everywhere. The radio in the car wouldn't shut up about 'ten-thirty-eight and ten-thirty-nine' which drove me nuts."

Kirsten couldn't remember the last time she repeated the police codes when her and her Dad would play around at home. She could remember herself being just a child and yelling out various police codes all through the house with her sister as the criminal or victim while her Dad came running around the corners with his police hat on and doing his 'duties.' "Ten-thirty-eight is... Um― ...sick person?" She guessed, "And thirty-nine is injured?"

"You got it," Adrian said. "Anyway, long story short, I got home about an hour and a half after I left, but you both were gone. I didn't know _where _I'd find you. I went to the drug store, but Lee's parents didn't know where you both were. I didn't want to leave 'em, but you two were my first priority."

Kirsten raised an eyebrow, "By the time we decided to get to the drugstore, Macon was filling up like crazy. We just hitched a ride with a couple people and got out of there, and eventually parted ways with them," she told him. Before she let him reply, she remembered what Clementine told her about Lee. "Oh― and I have some not so good news about what happened to Lee after he was sent to pr―"

"Kirst, I know," Adrian cut her off. "How do you think Kenny knows that little girl you're with?" He asked her, letting her put together the pieces. "He didn't want to talk about what happened back then, but he tried his hardest for me. He's also saved my ass more times in four months than I can remember, so I owe that guy big time," Adrian chuckled.

"Oh..." she murmured. The pair found themselves at the double doors again, and Kirsten took initiative to get inside before she froze to death. "So you've been with Kenny for four months?" She asked, letting her Dad pass through and put his shotgun down on the bench.

"Just about," he replied. "I tagged along with Kenny and Sarita around then, Walt and his boyfriend let us stay with them a couple weeks back. So we basically struck a gold mind, y'know? The best luxury you'll find these days."

Kirsten's eyebrows raised in surprise as they strolled passed empty couches, "Walt's got a boyfriend? I don't see another guy here."

"Nah, Matthew's usually in the shack down by the bridge, handin' out supplies to all the good folks if they're in need." Kirsten's mind immediately clicked as her eyes widened, "He left this morning to go out on a trip, actually. He'll be gone for a couple of days. It might be the apocalypse, but he's still a down-to-earth kind of sentimental guy. Loves taking trips around the area, even if he's gone about fifteen times..."

Kirsten looked around herself to see if anyone had been close to the pair, before she set her eyes on Walter just a few meters away from them at the food bar. Clementine was wondering around close by, along with Sarah and Sarita by the Christmas tree. "I... um―" She couldn't tell her father what happened, he would definitely go tell Walter, or ever worse; address Nick himself. She didn't know how close he was Matthew, she wouldn't even know if he'd go crazy or not. The world changes people, her Dad could have developed another side to him that he just wasn't showing. She needed to keep it to herself if she didn't want havoc to flood the lodge. "I― I would totally do the same... I mean, it's just so nice up here―"

"Dinner's ready! C'mon, let's eat." Walter's announcement cut the young woman off, which was probably a sign to stop talking on the subject and run along.

Adrian signaled Kirsten to go over to the sink at the food station, "Go wash up over there, kiddo."

The young woman made her way to the sink and began to wash her hands, mentally screaming about the current situation with Matthew. She couldn't dare to tell anyone what she knows, Nick has to be honest with Walter himself. But even in Nick's condition, this wouldn't help at all...

She had no idea what the hell she was going to do.

* * *

**A/N: **Soooo, this took me a couple of hours. Also, speedy update. Nice and speedy. Woo.

Don't forget to leave a review! I'm in need of them right now and they could really help! Since we're going to be staying at the lodge for a couple of days, **I need some ideas for what's going to happen.** I don't mean big plot points, just small little filler moments. They could be funny, sad, and incredibly suggestive if ya knoooow what I mean.

Man, I hope you know what I mean.

Anyway, basically any cute moments between Luke and Kirsten that I could add. Also, daddy-daughter moments. Both Kirsten and Adrian or Carlos and Sarah can be suggested, I don't mind.

I'm sure you get the idea by now, so I'm going to thank you for reading and head off. Thanks for reading, and buh-bye.


	17. Rational Paranoia

**A/N: **Quick note, thanks so much for the kind reviews! I'll be sure to incorporate some of your ideas soon. Also, long chapter! Happy reading!

* * *

Kirsten stood in between two wooden tables with her hand grasping her chin, deciding which table she was going to sit at. Upon first thinking about it, she wouldn't hesitate to say she'd sit with her father. But upon thinking twice, she'd remember that she had her group with her, and she couldn't just leave them high and dry. Upon thinking about it a third time, she'd realize that she _just _found her Dad, and that they need to make up for lost time. The young woman watched as Clementine strolled over to the table with Kenny and sat down at an empty space. Which for some reason, prompted Kirsten to take a seat at the same table. Next to her sat Walter with Clementine on the left of him. Across from the table, Sarita, Kenny and Adrian sat with their bowls and chatted away.

Adrian welcomed her with a big smile as Walter handed her a bowl of food. She thanked him and looked back over at the table her group was sitting at. She could barely hear what they were saying over the conversation Kenny and Walter were having, but they seemed to be enjoying the food while discussing how long they were going to stay at the lodge. Kirsten hoped it was for a while, she didn't even know what she was going to do if she had to part ways. Her Dad was here at the lodge, and the lodge seemed decently safe. Maybe they had a chance at defending themselves against Carver instead of running away from him?

Kenny glanced passed Kirsten and Clementine and over to the other table in scrutiny, observing the guests as they spoke. "So, Clem, we were just talkin'... what's the deal with the kid? What's his name... Luke?" He asked, grabbing the attention of Kirsten as she looked up at Kenny cautiously. "He in charge? You trust him?" He pressed.

Sarita glanced over at Kenny with furrowed brows, "Kenny, please—"

"Sarita, we don't know these folks," Kenny cut in, looking back at her sternly.

Adrian placed his spoon in his bowl and reached over to his cup, grabbing it. "Actually, I'd of thought Kirsten would be taking that role in the group. She's definitely got the smarts for it," he boasted, "all thanks to me." The man smirked at his daughter as she cautiously continued to eat her food, but realizing that he father was expectant of an answer.

"Not that I know of," she shook her head. "It's mostly Luke and Carlos keeping things in line. I'm just making sure we don't all die," she confessed. And she was fine with not being the leader despite seeming fit for the role. Besides, she looked towards the group not as a dictatorship, but more of a _dysfunctional_ _family_ with a little demon chasing after them.

Adrian's eyes widened, realizing that he got at least one thing correct about his assumptions. Luke was the- or at least _one _of the leaders, but Kirsten wasn't. That seriously took him by surprise, as well. He debated whether or not he should press on about it, but instead, decided to be quiet and take a sip from his cup.

Kenny glanced over to Clementine expectantly, "And is Luke a good leader? He seem trustin'?" He asked.

Clementine nodded her head, "I like him, he's a good guy," she responded.

"Would you trust him with your life?"

The younger girl's eyes widened. The question wasn't what startled her, more so Kenny. Clementine had suspected some jealousy towards Luke, seeing as how close he and the little girl seemed when they walked through the doors. "I think so," she responded, watching Kenny nod.

Adrian looked over to his daughter, "Can I get a more experienced opinion on him, kiddo?" He asked her, taking in a spoonful.

Kirsten thought for a moment before speaking up, "I... don't think I can ever see him betraying me," she told him.

Before Adrian could say any more, Sarita abruptly stood up with her bowl in her hands. "Well, I think it would be a great idea to get to know then more," she insisted before stepping out of her seat. "They seem like lovely people."

"Wonderful idea, I'll join you," Walter said before mimicking her and moving towards the other table.

After a few moments of negotiation between Sarita and the group, the woman somehow managed to send Luke and Nick on their way to the other table. Kirsten put the two and two together and assumed that Sarita must have sweet talked them into getting to know her boyfriend and Adrian more. Since she'd met Sarita, she made the conclusion that she was an overall nice person, someone who shouldn't be subjected to this type of world.

Before Kirsten knew it, she had Nick right across from her and sitting next to her father, along with Luke sitting right beside her. As Luke sat down he flashed a smile at the woman next to him, she couldn't help but do the same, even if she was trying her best not to make any feelings towards Luke (or vice versa) noticeable to her Dad.

"Hey there," Kenny greeted Luke from across the table with a plastered smile and a nod of his head.

"Hey," Luke responded, quickly looking over to Nick. Kirsten could tell that both of the boys and Kenny were uncomfortable with each other, especially because of the tension with the weapons before. She could only hope that this went smoothly, although when was the last time hoping got her what she wanted?

"So," Adrian began, "how long have you guys been traveling out there?" He asked, seeming to direct his question more to Luke than anyone else. "I can't imagine it being too long what with the cold and all."

Luke raised an eyebrow as he began to think, "Around three days at the most. It- uh, wasn't all that easy, but we got where we wanted."

"Sounds like it was tough," Adrian continued.

Kirsten couldn't let Luke spill about Nick shooting Walter's boyfriend, she didn't even think he _knew _who Nick shot. "We got here in the end, that's all that matters."

A brief silence between the group swept through, Kenny looked towards Luke in front of him. He then set his eyes on Nick who rested his elbows on the table, biting at his thumb as if he was bored.

"So it's Luke... and Nick. Luke and Nick," Kenny, who took a sharp turn in emotion, broke the silence. "You guys sure do look like a match."

Kirsten almost choked on her food and coughed, trying to contain laughter as she covered her mouth with her hand and dropped her spoon into her bowl. Luke's eyes suddenly widened as he lowered his spoon from his face and looked over at Kenny in surprise. _The hell did_―

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Nick growled, glaring at Kenny in disgust.

Kenny looked over to Nick with a smirk, "I'm just sayin' you look like good friends, that's all."

Luke glanced over at Kenny with a 'matter of fact' look upon his face, looking at the older man as if he was about to say something. Kirsten thought quickly and latched her hand onto Luke's thigh, squeezing it as she looked up at him with warning. At first, Luke was confused. And a little turned on. But once she glanced over at her father and back to him, he began to debate with himself on whether he should say mention anything or not. Kirsten had the slightest clue about what he was going to say, but she just didn't want him saying anything stupid over all.

He looked over at her Dad, who had been looking over at Kenny with a scolding look upon his face. Luke tested how serious Kirsten was about this, and to be honest, he was kind of hurt. But Luke knew exactly why she wouldn't want to tell her father, but at the very least wanted to get a reaction out of her. Luke jokingly began opening his mouth as if he was about to speak, but prompted Kirsten to not only squeeze harder, but dig her nails into him. Luke whimpered slightly as he shut his mouth and pursed his lips, making Kirsten slowly let go and raise her hand back on the table and resume eating her food.

"Yeah, I'm sure you did, old man," Nick spat, still glaring at man before letting his eyes settle back down to the table.

Kirsten didn't want Kenny pushing Nick further over the edge than he already was, even if he didn't know how much Nick had to endure recently. "Nick, relax," she told him, to which he still maintained his glare, but obliged.

Kenny glanced over to Kirsten with a sly smirk, "This your boyfriend over here?" He asked, pointing towards Nick and waiting for a reaction.

"What?!" Nick fumed, causing Luke to glare at Kenny.

Kirsten narrowed her eyes at the older man shrugged her shoulders, "What the hell is up your ass?" She spat out at him.

Adrian cleared his throat audibly, "Kenny, I know my daughter wouldn't get herself mixed up in all that, she's a smart girl," he persisted. _Damn it... _Kirsten thought. Her father still had expectations of her. _Still_. In the goddamn _apocalypse_. "Now I don't want to see anymore arguing, just eat."

Those on the table obliged, and there was another silence. But this one wasn't as brief as before, in fact, it felt longer. Kirsten couldn't believe that Kenny was trying to rile up group, especially in front of her Dad. It's as if the man had no filter on his mouth, that words just blurted out of his mouth before processing a possible outcome.

Luke sighed, "So, what was your plan up here? Hold out for the winter?" He asked, trying to engage in friendly conversation.

Kenny shrugged his shoulders, "Actually, we were thinking of moving on. Somewhere up north. You ever heard of a place called Wellington?" He asked, directing his question towards Clementine mostly.

"We talked about it," Kirsten replied, looking over to Luke who nodded. "Haven't really discussed it much since. Our main plan was just to head north, anyway."

"Christa and I were going there, too," Clementine announced, looking towards Kenny. _Hmph, she never mentioned that before._

"Sounds like bullshit anyway," Nick grumbled before taking in a spoonful.

Kenny narrowed his eyes at Nick, signalling that another argument was about to break out once again. "Listen Vanilla Ice," Kenny insulted, "I don't know what your deal is, but you're more than welcome to take off in the morning!" He growled, causing Kirsten to look up at him in shock.

Kirsten began to panic, it hadn't even been a day and everyone was at each other's throats. In fact, she didn't want the group to get kicked out because of Kenny's aggravation. "Woah, wait a sec―!"

"Well that'd be just fine by me," Nick retorted, cutting off a pleading Kirsten.

Adrian couldn't believe what came over Kenny. He'd never acted like this before, it was like the whole world was out to get him. At least not in front of him. "Kenny, damn it, _relax_―"

"What's the deal with these guys, Clem?" Kenny bitterly asked.

"Hey fuck you, buddy," Nick growled.

Luke glanced over at Nick with a dull expression, "It's fine, Nick. We're not stayin' long, anyway."

"Luke!" Kirsten growled feeling like she'd lost all control. _Is this really happening?! _She thought to herself in shock, she couldn't believe that they couldn't last five minutes without arguing again, or at the very most, making decisions for her that she hadn't had a choice on.

Adrian narrowed his eyes at both of the men, "All of you, cut it the hell out! Now isn't the time for this shit!"

"Gentlemen, please," a voice spoke out. Walter made his way to the table in disappointment, "There's no need for this," he continued. Walter was waiting for another comment and felt as if it was just about to be made, which made him take initiative. "Hey, Clementine... would you- uh... lend me a hand outside for a moment?" He offered, and the girl accepted. Clementine got out of her seat and followed Walter away from the group.

Kirsten looked around the table with narrowed eyes and a disappointed expression before pushing herself out of her seat and walking towards the staircase.

"Where are you going?" Adrian asked, standing up from his seat with his hands planted on the table.

"The bathroom," She called out in response with a dull tone of voice.

Kirsten really didn't want to leave them all together with each other, but she'd do anything to get away from them for a couple of minutes.

* * *

After a few good minutes of trying to find the bathroom, and eventually finding it, Kirsten found herself wiping her wet hands on her shirt as she exited the bathroom. She noticed the side tables that held family photos, candles and other sentimental types of things. As she walked down the hallway, she took a moment to stop by each table and look at the photos. There was a picture of two young girls with a man and woman behind them, all seeming to be standing on the chair lift tower with their glove-covered thumbs up. It must have been snowing pretty heavy that day, the lodge was almost entirely covered in snow.

There was another picture with a boy and a girl, they both looked like they were in their late teens, holding hands with ski's under their feet as they smiled at the camera. Kirsten almost forgot that the world was once as peaceful as these photos depicted, and that these were real human beings who were God knows where right now. She seemed to be pulling herself further down into the bad mood she was already in, but seemed a little glad that people were actually happy at some point. She placed down the photo frame and walked over to the next side table, picking up a frame that held a picture of two men in front of mountains and trees. The men were smiling and happy, but... those men were also recognizable.

Kirsten widened her eyes as she brought the frame closer to her face and looked at it in scrutiny, "Oh, shit..." she muttered, as she realized that the men were both Walter and his boyfriend Matthew. The... guy on the bridge. She couldn't let anyone see this, she couldn't even _whisper _a word about this at all. She needed to hide the picture before the group saw it. She looked across the tables at each of the doors, quickly running into one and shutting the door behind her. She looked around at decently sized bedroom and ran over to the nearest drawer which happened to be a bedside table. She opened it and saw a bunch of socks, either left here by people at the lodge before the outbreak, or it belonged to Walter's group.

Kirsten couldn't take the risk of someone finding it in there, especially if it was one of her group members who were sleeping in the room. She ran over to the closet and pulled open one of the drawers underneath the doors. It was full of random mementos and accessories that she could bury the picture under, and so she did. She shut the drawer closed and jumped to her feet, power walking to the door before taking a few big breaths. She casually opened the door and walked out, not spotting anyone in the hallway. She closed the door and began to casually walk down the hallway, reaching the stairway before noticing that everyone was getting out of their seats or grabbing their bowls.

Not long after, she noticed Luke making his way up the stairs and towards her. "Hey, just the person I was lookin' for," he said to her before meeting her at the top of the stair case.

"What's wrong?" She asked, looking up at him as he began to walk towards the hallway.

Luke turned his head around to her and stopped walking, "Nothing's wrong, Sarita said I should show you the room you're stayin' in," he told her. Kirsten stared blankly at Luke before he began to gesture her to follow him. She went after him and began to walk with him side by side, still worrying about the photo she found. "You're not gonna believe these rooms, Kirst. They're freakin' _huge._ Have you seen those beds? They're pretty damn bouncy, I mean, can you just imagine _the―_"

"Don't you even say it, Luke."

"...Don't say what?" He grinned.

"What you're gonna say― I _know _what you're gonna say," she told him, trying to contain a smile as best as she could. She might have fallen for the sweet hearted farm boy, but _damn _was he cheeky at times.

"The... good night's sleep?" He eased on with a grin, looking down at her teasingly.

Kirsten huffed as she smiled at him, "Sure, Luke. Nice save."

"Yeah," he trailed off, smiling as he shook his head a little and continued to walk with her. "I- uh, also wanted to talk about you and I. I know that it's taken some time for us to get used to things and all, but I wanna know what you'd consider us to be," he gently exclaimed, looking down at her occasionally to witness at least some sort of reaction.

"Human beings, Luke."

Luke raised his eyebrows at the girl in confusion, "What? No, I- I mean relationship wise." Kirsten became silent, folding her arms as she looked off to the side. "I know that it's kind of weird to say what with society bein' dead and all, but... are we like- you know, _dating?_"

Of all the times Luke had to mention any of this, it had to be when she had the most stuff on her mind. She felt like she couldn't make a clear decision in all of this mess, especially as she tried to keep secrets from so many people. She knew that Luke wanted an answer and she couldn't stay silent without him coaxing it out of her, so she had to try her best in the situation.

"Dating?" She asked, "You're hilarious."

Apparently, that was her best.

Luke looked down at her with an expression of scold, "I'm bein' serious about this."

The young woman sighed, rubbing her forehead with her hand, "Did you heard what my Dad said out there? I'm "all work and no play" to him. I'm apparently too busy 'being smart' not to get mixed up in all of that."

"Then what? A- Are we supposed to forget this ever happened then?" He asked, catching Kirsten by surprise as his voice got louder. "We pretend that we don't feel anythin' and brush it under the rug?"

Kirsten looked up at him as if she was crazy, "God no, ju- just keep your voice down, okay?" Luke folded his arms, but obliged, chewing on his bottom lip. "Fuck, look, I just don't know how my Dad's going to take it, alright? He's never exactly been all keen about boys and me. Thought that they were going to hurt me or something," she replied.

"And has that ever stopped you?" He asked.

"Hah."

Luke sighed, stopping at one of the bedroom doors. "Then what's stopping you now?" He asked, leaning against the door with his hand.

Kirsten paused, halting in front of him. "You're... You're right. Again. You're always right," she told him. Luke raised his eyebrows at her as she continued. "I mean, what Dad doesn't know won't kill him, and... there really isn't another way to put it, is there? In a general sense, you're my boyfriend, and I'm yours."

Luke smiled with happiness, but also began to smirk as he registered what she said. "You're my boyfriend?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her as he twisted the knob on the door and opened it, allowing her inside.

Kirsten chuckled, walking into the room and turning around to him, "Don't make me regret this," she told him.

He entered the room and closed the door behind him, looking at her with a smile as he walked to her. "Never," he told her, reaching his hand out to her to grab. There was something about Kirsten that made her seem like Luke needed to be careful with what he did, as if he was supposed to ask before touching. She wasn't like the other girlfriend's Luke had experience with, they were usually alright with being hugged out of no where or surprised with kisses. But Kirsten was kind of like a wolf, in the best possible way of course, he had to be cautious at first. But with a little nurturing and assurance, he'd never want to let go of her when he had the chance to hold her. This surely kept Luke in line, it made him be careful of where he tread and stopped him from making her uncomfortable.

The young woman didn't waste any time grasping onto his hand, letting him pull her towards him as he cupped his hands around her face. She didn't feel as if she wanted him to have full control of her, at least not now. Which made her softly grab onto one of his wrists and pull his hand away from her face, but held onto it tightly as it fell down to their sides. He cradled her face in his hand as he brought her closer, eventually capturing their lips together. Her hands began to gently hold onto his neck and shoulders as she stood on the tip of her toes, letting themselves go at it for a good while.

Kirsten hadn't realized she was holding her breath, which began to hurt a little. She released her lips from his and leaned back down onto her feet, letting out a sigh of pleasure as she looked up at him.

"_Man,_ I forgot how great this feels."

* * *

"Do you usually stand out here in the cold like this, Grizzly Adams?"

Adrian looked over his shoulder as he heard the double doors shut, pushing himself off the barrier as his daughter walked over to him, holding at her arms in coldness. "You usually walk outside without a jacket?" He asked her, giving her a half-grin as she leaned onto the barrier.

"Touché, old man," she replied teasingly.

"Really, girl? After two years, you're still calling me that?" He asked, nudging her slightly with his elbow as he rested himself back onto the barrier.

Kirsten giggled, "Trust hurts, don't it?" She said, scrunching up her nose as she looked at him with a big grin.

"You're lucky I don't have a radiator to handcuff you to, smart-ass," he teased. "Or... y'know, handcuffs."

"Not such a tough guy now, huh?"

Adrian rubbed his chin as he looked up to the sky, grinning, "I swear she got this from you," he said. It took a moment for Kirsten to realize he wasn't talking to her, but to her Mom. He had a habit of looking up and talking as if his wife was able to hear him even before the apocalypse, it comforted him in all ways possible. It kept him happy, and that's all his daughter wanted to see after what happened to her Mom.

Kirsten looked at her father with a small smile, "I'm sure I did."

The man stayed silent, not letting a peep from him be heard. The only thing the both of them could hear were rustling trees and creaks from the chair lift tower.

"You should go on and get to bed, kiddo," he insisted. "Everyone else hit the hay not long ago."

"I actually came outside because of that," she confessed. "I didn't want anyone hearing us."

"What's on your mind, then?"

Kirsten swept her fringe behind her ears and sighed, "Just wondering what you thought of the group, is all," she told him. If the group were going to be here for a bit, she wanted to know how her Dad was feeling about it. She _needed _to know, just to make sure no other arguments between anyone sparked again. Her father wasn't the arguing type, in fact, he tried his best to not get into little fits with other people. The young woman noticed that Kenny on the other hand, was the exact opposite of her Dad. She didn't know how he put up with him, but he just did.

Adrian sighed, "They're not all that bad, to be honest," he replied. Kirsten sighed in relief. "That Nick kid's sure got a temper on him," he added.

"Well, he's been through a lot. I've tried my best helping him."

"That's good of you, kiddo," Adrian said. "Don't let your group members fall in on themselves, you're gonna want to be strong in these times of need."

Kirsten shrugged, "It's been semi-okay so far, can't say it's been all peachy and rainbows from the beginning." She looked down at the ground before continuing, "What about everyone else?" She asked.

"Alvin seemed plenty nice, thought it was amazing that you and I found each other again." Kirsten smiled, she was glad she knew Alvin. That man's been the light in the darkest situations plenty of times, even chummed the girl up when she was feeling down about stuff. "His wife I can excuse, I remember what pregnancy did to your Mom and how emotional she was. The woman seems okay, nonetheless."

"She's got a heart of gold, that one. She's just been dealing with shit too, she can't help it."

"I hear ya," he told her. "Luke seems surprisingly level-headed for a leader, saw him biting his tongue at the table."

Kirsten swallowed nervously, "He... he has his moments, but you won't see them much. He'd rather implode than explode, if you get what I mean." Adrian nodded. "But he's a good guy, can't say I've ever seen someone as nice and caring for his group as he is."

Adrian chuckled, "You getting all soft on me, Kirst?" He asked.

The woman nervously laughed, trying to dismiss his comment by continuing with the other group members. "So, what about Carlos?" She asked.

"Man, I have _never_ seen a man as possessive as he is. I don't want to keep you up all night, but..."

Oh, Kirsten knew all about it.

"Go on, Dad."

* * *

**A/N: **Chapter is _dooone. _I thought it was pretty cute, how about you? Well, at least the middle and ending. The argument was pretty fun to write, especially adding in the OC's comments.

Please don't hesitate to review, they help out a lot with what you guys want in the story. It's kind of like the saying "Happy wives, happy lives." Except you guys aren't my wives, you're my readers. And I'm sure this story has little to no impact on your lives whatsoever.

...But hey, reviews always help! :)

Thanks for reading!


	18. A Story Once Told

**A/N: Just before we jump into the next chapter, I want to thank you guys so fucking much for the reviews on the last chapter. They were actually the best and upped my mood and motivation by 100%. I didn't even know it was as great as you guys were saying, I originally thought it was kind of rushed. But... just... holy shit, you guys. Thank you so much for those reviews, you're all amazing and I'm so glad you guys love the content I put out. **

**There's also going to be an plot line being addressed in the author's note at the end that you guys seem to be bringing to my attention recently, so make sure you guys read that!**

**Other than that, happy reading!**

* * *

_"And that concludes our broadcast for tonight, May third, 1989. I'm Peter Jennings, have a lovely night."_

_The television switched off._

_Kirsten raised up from the couch swiftly and half-asleep, spotting her father in uniform by the coffee table with the remote control in his hand, and her mother next to him. It was late at night, Adrian's shift was over. Kirsten's Mom never went to sleep unless her husband came home, or at least knew where he was. "Wait... turn it back on..." She groggily mumbled, resting her head back onto the sofa cushion. "I wasn't sleeping..." She lied._

_"Time to go to bed, kiddo," Adrian told her, setting the remote control down onto the coffee table. "Mommy can take you up there," he told her._

_Lilith folded her arms, smiling, "I'm already holding one kid, I'm not holding another," she told him, glancing up at him as he grinned down at her plump stomach. "Besides, I don't think she's moving from that sofa."_

_Kirsten groaned, burying her face into the cushion. _

_Adrian sighed, "Alright, I've got her."_

_"Noo! I wanna keep watching...!" The young girl whined, pointing towards the television. _

_The man put his arms under his daughter's small, child-like frame and lifted her. "C'mon kiddo, up we go. Little girl's gotta get their sleep." _

_"I'm not little," Kirsten pouted, "I'm eight-years-old soon. I wanna sleep whenever I want!"_

_"Hah, keep dreaming," he teased her. Adrian held the girl tightly, leaning her over to her mother. "Give Mommy a kiss," he told her. Kirsten maneuvered herself in her Dad's arms, placing her hands on her mother's face and giving her a goodnight kiss before wrapping her arms around her neck and hugging her. _

_"Goodnight, baby," Lilith said to her daughter as she let go of her neck. Adrian began to walk around the sofa's and up the staircase with his daughter staring up at him. "I'll be up in a minute, okay?" Lilith shouted from downstairs._

_"Okay!"_

* * *

"There hasn't been a single sign of that asshole. I say we stay here for good."

Rebecca glanced up at Alvin through her lashes, sighing at his comment. Carlos took a scout around early morning and Carver was no where in sight, the group covered there tracks well. Rebecca thought that they could stay for at least a couple more days before leaving, they couldn't stay forever. Not with Bill's determination, they weren't safe no matter how well their tracks were covered. Even with Kenny's group protecting theirs, they wouldn't last. Carver wouldn't be scared to blow their heads off if they stood even an inch in his way.

"We cannot take that risk," Carlos disagreed. "We're putting not only our lives in danger, but Kenny's group in danger."

Alvin shoved his hands into his pockets, "Then we stand our ground, I ain't runnin' anymore," he declared.

Rebecca glared up at her husband, clearly he wasn't thinking as logically as she was. "What good is this place shot up? And what good are we _dead?_" She asked, folding her arms on top of her stomach.

"Woah― Who's getting shot up?" A voice chimed. Rebecca turned around to see Kirsten hopping down the hallway, lifting her leg up and trying to tie her shoe lace as she almost trips up.

"No one is getting shot," Carlos replied, watching the young woman stand back onto her two feet and walk the rest of the way towards them. "We're just discussing our situation."

"We can't stay here forever, Bill's eventually going to find us. Besides, we can't over-stay our welcome," Rebecca continued.

Carlos hummed, placing his hands on his hips. "We should leave in a few days at the most. That way, we can keep heading north until he gives up."

Kirsten felt uneasy, she hadn't thought about what she was going to do. And now, she only had a few days to make up her mind. _The day just started, and I'm seriously bombarded with this? _"A few days? Look, we haven't seen him in a couple of days. His trail has gone cold― I mean, look how well we hid our tracks! He's going to give up one way or another."

"That man's got the determination of a lion," Rebecca replied. "There isn't going to be any 'giving up' for him. He won't stop until he's got us back into his hands."

Kirsten sighed, dropping her head into her hands, succumbing to defeat. "...We can't stay for long, I guess," she muttered out.

Rebecca felt as if she was treading on thin ice, but she needed to ask what she knew what was on Kirsten's mind. She wondered what the woman had been thinking. "You don't know if you're gonna leave or not, huh?" She asked.

Kirsten folded her arms, shaking her head as she glanced down. "I've got no idea," she replied. The woman looked up, "Not a word of this gets to Luke, don't give him that stress." Kirsten was lodged in between the two people that meant the world to her.

Staying at the lodge would make her father happy, but she'd be leaving Luke _and _her group behind, along with leaving her life and her Dad's in danger. Not to mention Sarita, Kenny and Walter, who were completely innocent and had nothing to do with Carver. But if she went with her group, Luke would be happy, but her father would be devastated. The only blood he had left would be forced to abandon him, and the time with her father would be brief and short, lasting a few days before never seeing him again. She was torn, there was no right decision in this situation.

"It won't," Rebecca replied. "We just don't want you making the wrong decision and getting yourself killed. If you gotta stick with blood, then stick with blood. But just remember, yours and the lives around you are at cost. You know how that man is, and I don't want you or your Dad to be on the receiving end."

Before Kirsten even had a moment to think about what the older woman said, she heard two familiar voices chatting away as they walked up the stairs.

"Just don't bring up what happened, and we'll be fine," Luke uttered to Nick in a low voice, the man nodding his head in response. "What's going on up here?" He asked, stopping at the top of the stairs.

"Just... weather talk," Rebecca replied. Kirsten looked towards the lady through the corners of her eyes, giving her a small nod.

The group fell silent, which was quite rare, actually. Someone always had something to say, but now, they were just staring at each other awkwardly.

Kirsten cleared her throat, "Well," she broke the silence, clasping onto her hands. "This got awfully weird. So, I'm going to get some food in me," she announced, before walking past the group and heading down the stairs. As she got down to the last step, she noticed the huge Christmas tree she couldn't help but admire. It was as tall as the stair case and must have taken a long time to set up. _Sarita's definitely proud of this thing._

She looked around the bottom floor of the lodge, noting that it seemed empty when her group wasn't scattered on it. Her Dad was no where to be found, and neither was Sarita. _Must be outside... _she thought, spotting Kenny, Walter and Clementine at the food bar. She was filled with a peachy scent, putting two and two together and figuring out that Walter was cooking something up.

Walter glanced up from the pot he was cooking in and laid eyes on the younger woman approaching him, "Good morning, Kirsten. Sleep well?" He asked, greeting her.

"You can say that," she replied, smiling. "What's in the pot?" She asked, leaning over the bench and staring into the pot filled of mush.

Kenny rested his elbow on the bench as he looked up at Kirsten, "This here is the finest cooked peaches your Daddy― or _anyone_, has ever tasted," he playfully boasted, glancing down at Clementine with a grin as she stared into the pot.

"It's just peaches, Kenny," Clementine spoke up, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"These peaches ain't just ordinary peaches, Clem. These peaches had the blessing of being cooked by Walt over here," Kenny persisted, motioning over to Walter before looking up at Kirsten, expectant of a response.

"I'm... still trying to figure out why you're so enthusiastic all of a sudden," She uneasily replied, folding her arms with a slight grin. _Heh, maybe he got some last night._

Kenny shrugged the woman off and looked past her, noticing Sarita and Adrian walking through the double doors. He walked out of the food bar area and up to his girlfriend who stopped at the doors. He planted a kiss on her forehead as they began to talk while Adrian made his way up to his daughter with a backpack on his shoulder.

"I swear, they can't go a minute without being next to each other," Adrian muttered to his daughter before planting a kiss of his own onto her forehead. "Morning, kiddo," he greeted before walking towards the direction of the stairs.

"Morning," she smiled, before chasing after him. "What were you doing out there?" She asked as she began to walk side by side with him.

"Ehh, something's up with the wind turbine. Been like that for a few days now," he told her. "Better hope it doesn't crap out on us, not when we have so many people in lodge right now."

Kirsten glanced up at him, "How long do you think it'll hold up?" She asked.

"Honestly? Not that long," he replied. "Even that damn transformer playing up," he persisted before walking up the stairs.

Kirsten followed behind as she began to worry, now her days were _really _limited. Once that wind turbine goes, the group's going to want to head out and continue with the plan. All of these issues were just piling onto each other, she had to keep so many things hidden and make decisions she didn't even know _how_ to make. What with Nick shooting Walter's boyfriend and trying to keep that a secret, trying to keep the fact that her and Luke are together from her Dad, and needing to choose whether or not she's going to stick with blood or turn away.

If there was any form of relief here, she was desperate enough to go looking for it.

* * *

Somehow, in some stupid way, Luke managed to set himself up with some alone time with Adrian out on a supply run. He knew all of what he was going to say was going to be blurted through a dodgy filter, with the reoccurring thought of getting his ass beaten if he slips up. But hey, at least the group won't witness his brutal beating and succumb to humiliation.

"Now the shed's just up the trail a bit further, we should be back at the lodge around lunch," Adrian informed the younger man. Luke wondered how old the man was, he couldn't have been less than his late forties. From what Kirsten's told him, she was born when he was in his mid twenties, so he couldn't have been that old.

"So where'd you find this shed again?" Luke asked, holding onto the cold, hard metal of the his pistol.

Adrian's eyes adverted to Luke, "Your friend Carlos said he saw it through binoculars this morning when he was checking the perimeter. Plus, Kenny and I have ran past it a few times being chased by walkers," he chuckled slightly as Luke nodded his head. "Kirsten didn't tell me you guys were being chased by some guy. What's his name... Corvet?"

"Carver," Luke corrected.

"Right, what's he want, anyway?" Adrian asked.

Luke sighed, "It's... a long story. To put it short and sweet, he wants what he thinks is his."

Adrian cocked an eyebrow, "Is that as short as it's going to get?" He asked as they both scouted the area near the shed.

The younger man nodded, looking carefully into the bushes. "I can't really tell people other people's business, y'know? It's not my place," he replied.

"That's real respectable of you," he replied. "Mind getting the doors?" He quietly asked, cocking his shotgun as he points it towards the two wooden doors.

Luke nods his head as he unsheathes his machete, gnawing on his bottom lip, he uses his free hand to push one of the doors open. He sets his eyes on a lurker banging on the dirty glass windows of the shed, before it adverted its attention to Luke. "I've got it," Luke announces before carefully making his way in, Adrian lagging behind. The young man slowly approaches the undead as he lifts his arm up, he swings his machete down into the skull of the lurker, its body going limp before Luke uses his foot to kick off and separate it from his machete.

Adrian lowers his gun as he looks around the shed, momentarily glancing over to Luke. "That's a good arm you got there," he complimented.

Luke vaguely smiled as he began to look at the almost untouched supplies, "I've had my fair share of practice," he told him. Adrian quirked an eyebrow at the younger man as Luke realized the possible double meaning. "Oh― N- Not like that, I- I meant with this thing," Luke stammered, holding his machete out to the older man.

Adrian grinned, "I know what you meant," he said through a chuckle.

The two men glanced over at the supplies that sat on wooden, makeshift shelves. It held canned food and fruits, jars full of hard boiled sweets, hand-sized boxes of tea and small jars with coffee beans. To the left sat a rack of bottles, most likely wine, and bunch of boxes. They'd struck a goldmine what with the group being at the lodge, the supplies would keep them well fed for days.

Luke glances over at Adrian, "These are pretty big boxes for a small shed, think someone lives here?" He asked, putting his machete back into his sheathe.

He shook his head, "Not that I've seen. This place is remote as hell, the only people we find are the ones crossing the bridge," he replied. "Besides, there's dust on supplies and those boxes are taped up. If someone was here, it was a long time ago." Luke nodded his head as he swung the backpack off his shoulders and began to unzip it, "You should get to those boxes, I'll get the ones off the shelf," Adrian instructed, pulling a rusty pocket knife from an inside pocket in his windcheater and throwing it to Luke.

He caught the pocket knife and flipped it out, bending down on his knees and digging the knife into the tape on the box. He pulled the cardboard flaps apart and looked down at the supplies, which were like the supplies on the shelf. He started to unload them into the backpack until he spotted a large bag of '_Giant Roaster Marshmallows._' Luke grabbed the bag and looked up at Adrian in surprise, "Not what I was expectin'..." He told the older man.

Adrian looked down at the marshmallows momentarily, "Oh good," he said in a distracted tone of voice, "that'll keep everyone from yelling in each others ears at night." Luke couldn't help but agree. Although Carver was no where to be found, the group was still on edge about the situation. Which made them more irritable and prone to arguments, and definitely was _not _a good mix with Kenny's irritating self.

"Let's hope so," Luke said, stuffing the bag into the backpack.

Silence fell in between the two men as they continued packing supplies. That made Luke feel a little uneasy, but glad that he didn't have to speak as much knowing he can't let anything slip from his mouth. Adrian on the other hand, wanted to know more about what his daughter had been up to in the group and how it's taken a toll on her without her Dad being there.

Adrian paused for a moment before looking down at Luke, "So, how long's my daughter been with you all?" He asked.

The young man stopped for a moment to think, "I can't say for sure, my best guess is a month and a bit." Luke took the time away from everyone else to ask questions about Kirsten he knew he'd get his ass kicked for asking her. Her Dad seemed a little more light-hearted than she did, so he could only hope for the best. "Was she always like this?" Luke hesitantly asked.

"Like what?"

"Just generally cold, y'know?"

Adrian sighed, "In a way, I guess. I mean, I did notice something a little off about her now, but I just kept shrugging it off," he tells him. "I understand it, it's a shitty time. It brings people down. And although I miss seeing my daughter light up like she used to as a little girl, I can accept that she's changed. Even if I don't want to."

Luke paused, glancing down with a slight frown. "Yeah. Being out here does damage to people. We can't all be as normal as we used to with the shit we've seen," he replies, continuing to unload.

"She hasn't been a hassle, has she?" The older man asked quietly as if she'd been listening.

Luke shakes his head, "Everything but. She's helped us out more times than I can remember, even if it's just the little things. She warmed up to us."

Adrian raised his eyebrows in surprise, "That's... unusual, considering she isn't one to take comfort in sticking with a group of people. She always thought a couple close friends was all she needed when growing up. Being with a group of people she apparently cares about is a little different than her normal self," he pointed out.

The young man shrugged, "As much as she didn't want to, she depended on the honesty of our group. There were other people we were with in one big community, other people that she didn't trust as much as she did us. I guess it's just a survival tactic she's usin' to build trust and keep numbers."

Adrian huffed, "That's one way to put it."

Luke pushed the empty box aside and dug the pocket knife into the next one, mimicking his actions before to get the box open. So far, one risky question didn't backfire. He didn't like testing the waters, especially with his girlfriend's Dad, but his curiosity was gaining on him. "I don't wanna seem disrespectful or anythin', but... where's your wife? Kirsten didn't mention much about her, and I didn't wanna make her feel uncomfortable."

The older man let out an audible breath before speaking, "And there's a reason behind her not telling you, but... I'm not as reluctant about it as I used to be. You're smart to not ask further with her, she'd probably cut your damn fingers off."

"Missed a bullet there, then..." Luke muttered.

Adrian cleared his throat before sighing, and looking over to Luke with low eyes. "Both of my wife's pregnancies had complications, one more than the other. I mean― It was a miracle Kirsten was even born without any problems, but it scared my wife a lot. We held off from anymore kids for eight years before trying again, which is why Claire was significantly younger than Kirsten. Did you meet her sister?"

Luke shook his head, "No, Kirsten said she― uh... died... just before she met us."

Adrian lightly smiled as he shook his head a little, "It's a shame," he said, "seeing her smile would be the best part of your day. It was... rare though. She was a lot happier than growing up, but we were direct with her about her Mom. During labor she just... they needed to do an emergency C-Section, but by then, they could only save the baby." Adrian looked towards the ground silently for a moment, "It was hard. Trying to raise two girls on your own, especially when one of them thought it was their fault for most of their life."

Luke felt like it was a lot to take in, but the more Adrian told him, the more it started to make sense. Kirsten lost the mother figure in her life, and apparently her aunt wasn't a very good replacement. So it was just her Dad and her sister, and even then her Dad struggled. "I'm sorry to hear. That must have been really hard," he replied. "Was remarrying ever a― uh, choice?"

The older man shook his head, "No, I loved my wife too much. I didn't think I would ever find someone like her again. Besides, my daughters were like mirror images of my wife," he smiled. "Claire had her looks while Kirsten had her personality. And her damn attitude..." Adrian grinned, before turning around and continuing to grab the supplies off the shelves. "They were just so alike. I remember when Kirsten began to grow older into her teens, I'd feel like I was talking to my wife again," he began to chuckle, "I'd even call her Lilith a few times, but that never got me anywhere good."

"Lilith's a nice name," Luke pointed out. With the sad story Luke prompted Adrian to tell, he wanted to at least induce _some _happiness into him.

Adrian nodded, "For a nice looking woman, of course," he replied, causing Luke to laugh a bit.

From what Luke gathered from Adrian, he seemed like a relaxed man. Much different from what the world had turned others into, he had some sort of strict characteristic to him while maintaining a laid back personality. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea for Adrian to know about his daughter's relationship with Luke? He wanted to believe that the older man wouldn't blow a fuse over it, but he had to take Kirsten's word and not tread on thin ice with him. Moments before the pair left, Kirsten pulled Luke aside and told him not to say anything. Saying that just because he was able to sweet talk himself out of a situation, doesn't mean he should be sweet talking himself into one. With those words, it reassured Luke to not take yet another risk.

Luke glanced up at the man with a reassuring look, "All I can say is that you raised your daughter well on your own," he told him

Adrian gave a brief nod as he zipped up his backpack, "I hope so."

* * *

"Your turn, Clem!"

Clementine grabbed the dice from an excited Sarah's hand and shook it in her hands, rolling it onto the game board. She did simple addition with the numbers she got and grabbed her piece, moving it four steps along the trail. She landed on a question mark and picked up one of the cards in the center.

Sarita decided that it'd be a good idea to have the girl's pass time with a board game called _Monopoly. _Clementine only heard about it once at school when the smart kids used to boast about how they played for two hours straight with their family before someone flipped the board.

Clementine scrutinized the card as she brought it closer to her face, "Do not pass go... do not collect two-hundred dollars...?" She read out in confusion. "Go... Go... di-di-rect-aly... to jail?! But I didn't do anything!"

Sarita shushed the little as she didn't want her to wake the napping Kirsten on the sofa behind them. "You don't need to do anything bad, Clementine. That's apart of the game," she informed the little girl.

Clementine put the card back in the pile as she pouted, narrowing her eyes at her piece as she dragged it to the jail tile. "That's stupid..." she mumbled. Clementine now knew why game boards were flipped. She handed the dice Sarita and the woman began to shake it, but before she could roll it, the double doors of the lodge opened.

The sound of louder talking and the double doors slamming shut in the fierce winter wind woke the young woman on the sofa up from her sleep. Kirsten opened one of her eyes and spotted her Dad and Luke walk into the building with full backpacks, which only meant something good. She rubbed her eyes before swinging her legs off the sofa and onto the ground. She stood up and walked over to the pair, who noticed her eyes glued onto the backpacks they pulled off their shoulders.

"What'd you guys get?" She asked as Luke began to unzip the backpack he brought in, "Looks like a lot."

Luke whipped out the big bag of marshmallows and held them up, shaking them in his a hand a little as he smiled, "These babies," he replied, watching her eyes light up at the fluffy goodness.

Her eyebrows raised as she grabbed them from his hand, "Holy hell, they're huge... I can't remember the last time I even looked at these things," she admitted before her father snatched them out of her hands.

"They're for tonight, not now," he told her with a stern look. He knew his daughter well enough not to leave something as delicious as marshmallows in her hands for more than five seconds.

"I wasn't gonna eat them," She replied, folding her arms. "Sorta..."

Adrian grinned, "Sure, kiddo." He motioned for Luke to hand him the backpack before taking them to the food bar to stock up, leaving both Luke and Kirsten by themselves in the foyer.

Kirsten glanced up at Luke expectantly, raising an eyebrow as she kept her arms folded. "You keep your pretty mouth shut?" She asked in a hush tone of voice before looking around at the food bar.

"Relax, he don't know," Luke assured her as she nodded in relief. The man then quirked an eyebrow, "Have you thought about tellin' him?" He asked, as she looks up at him like he's crazy. "Look, I know it seems like a bad idea 'nd all, but your Dad's not that bad of a guy. Maybe he won't take it badly, y'know?" Kirsten tried to ignore what he was saying, that's seemingly what she'd been resorting to these days rather than dealing with the problem. But as much as she tried, the more she knew Luke was expecting some sort of an answer. And her answer was a brief shake of her head as she glanced up at him with a dull expression. "What? Is there another side to him I can't provoke or somethin'?" He asked.

"We shouldn't be trying to provoke him in the first place," she responded. "And what's with the sudden change of heart? One moment you're scared shitless, and the next you want to tell him how much you love his daughter?"

Luke folded his arms as he flushed a little, trying to keep a serious face while a smile kept trying to creep up on him. "I wasn't scared shitless, for your information."

"Oh, really?" Kirsten grinned, "Nick says it's a whole different story."

The man grimaced as he glared down at the ground, "Damn it, Nick..." He muttered, before adverting his eyes to Kirsten. He sighed, "Look, I got to know your Dad a little more during the run and... he doesn't seem like he'd rip my head off for datin' his daughter. He got real personal, even when he didn't have to. We could just be overthinkin' this, Kirst."

Kirsten paused. She had the urge to tell him he was right again, because maybe, just maybe, they were overthinking this. They could have been overthinking all of it. Her Dad was always stern with the guys she dated, but he'd never take it as far as depriving her from her own choice. Don't get her wrong, she really _wants _to tell her Dad, but she's just scared that he'll react differently this time. It's not like he's a police officer anymore, and it's not like this was the civilized world they once lived in. She can't risk getting a bad reaction.

The young woman shook her head, "N- No... we can't."

* * *

**A/N: Hey! Thanks so much for reading, I hope you liked the long chapter. And the speedy update. You guys gotta give me some credit, after failing to update for 1 to 2 month spans at a time, you're getting chapters a couple days apart from each other. Massive improvement. I've also been forgetting to do honorable mentions for the past two chapters! I really didn't mean to, and especially since you guys have been bringing something to my attention.**

**But anyway, onto the HM's!**

**Gingerman454: **Great to have this story back again. Would like to see Kenny talking to Kirsten because he's quite protective of Clementine and the same for Adrian and Luke. Anyway looking forward to seeing Alex Raven again :D

**It is great, isn't it? I still can't forgive myself for leaving you guys waiting for two months. I totally would have included the Kenny and Kirsten talk in this chapter, but I didn't want it to be _too _long. But I did fit in Adrian and Luke, which scored some massive development for all three characters it revolved around. And I really can't wait to reintroduce the OC's! thanks for the review!**

**Guest: **Loving this story, so glad you started updating again ! I would really like to see a moment between Luke and Kirsten next chapter cause it's been a while. It would be really nice if you made it a bit longer than usual cause I always feel their moments are a quite short, and give us a kiss between them or something hahha ;)

**I'm super glad you love the story. I actually added your request into the last chapter, but I didn't want to make it _too _long because we actually have something really special coming up between the two of them. It's going to get about as heated as it can get, and involves _a lot _of the stress relieving Kirsten needs. ;)**

**AboveReality: **So sweet! Too bad shit's about to hit the fan..

**;)**

**XxClemClemxX: **I thought this chapter was VERY cute! I think my favorite parts were the Argument and when Kirsten talked to her father towards the end about the group. I wonder how her father will react when he finds out about her and Luke? But anyways, I think you did a great job with the argument! I love how you had Kirsten try to resolve the problem(by mostly keeping Luke from saying anything XD), and also how you made Kenny come off in a more teasing manor towards Nick! And I also loved how you had Kirsten discover the picture of Matthew. I have to say, this is one of my favorite chapters! Great Job and can't wait until the next chapter.

**Aw, I'm so glad you liked it. I really wanted to add in some childish drama to lighten up the story a little since I think it adds some sort of comedic effect. I also wanted to you guys to know what Adrian was currently thinking about the group so you get an idea of the way he acts towards certain people. I plan on Adrian chatting with the others more, though I'm not too sure about how I'm going to incorporate it. I'm also not going to give anything away about his reaction towards Luke and Kirsten, other than the fact that he _definitely will_ find out about it. In a more dramatic way than you might think. I'm actually so happy that this is your favorite chapter, I honestly didn't expect it to get as much attention as it did. Thanks so much for reading!**

**Now onto one of the plot points you guys keep bringing up: I'm really going to need you guys to trust me on what I have planned, even if you guys don't want it to turn out that way. I can guarantee you that things will be a-okay in the end, and you've just got to have faith in what I choose.**

**Really hoping I just didn't spoil anything. **

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review please!**


	19. Mind Harming

**A/N: **Hi! Enjoy the chapter and happy reading!

* * *

"There we go."

A sudden burst of flame lit up the dim lounge of the lodge as Kenny set down Clementine's lighter, those sitting around the fire gazed into it peacefully. It almost seemed as if it wasn't the end of the world, and that there weren't any man-eating-monsters out and about.

Everything was peaceful.

Until the double doors had burst open, of course. In came in Clementine and Kirsten with a bundle of thin branches in their hands, looking like they just came out of a war zone with cuts and bruises on them. Clementine sustained a small graze on her cheek while Kirsten had a scratch just under her jaw, with little to no bleeding.

The group looked towards the pair in confusion, but were slightly glad that they grabbed the branches.

"The fuck happened?!" Kenny called out from the fireplace.

"What in the world...?" Adrian gawked, standing up from the floor as Kenny mimicked him. They rushed over to the girls as they blew strands of hair out of their faces and looked exhausted. Luke raised from his seat and followed after them, but tried to keep his composure as he knew that his girlfriend didn't want him giving any subtle hints.

Luke glanced down at the woman in confusion and worry, "The hell happened out there?!" He asked.

Kirsten began to stammer, "Well― uh..."

* * *

**THIRTY MINUTES EARLIER**

"Those branches don't look that big, maybe we could try those?" Clementine suggested, pointing towards landscape behind the lodge.

Kirsten quirked an eyebrow, but took to the idea. The girls were sent out to go grab branches for the marshmallows, but Kirsten didn't see why Kenny wanted to send Clementine out with her. The young girl didn't want to persist it, she seemed like she actually wanted too. So disagreeing to his suggestion wasn't something Kirsten could do.

The woman walked towards the trees with the little girl by her side, keeping her hand on the handle of her knife. Once she got close to the trees, she noticed that bark was peeling off of them. The tree's were most likely older than three generations of her family, and although she didn't want to use the branches from this tree, all the other trees had branches way too thick.

"These'll do, I guess." The young woman glanced down at the even younger girl, "Do you wanna climb up a little and grab the branches? It's not that high up," she asked the girl.

Clementine sighed, "Can't you just jump?" She asked as she looked the tree up and down.

Kirsten folded her arms, "Eh― Yeah... I- I can..." She was reluctant to even grab onto a branch given her history with trees. She broke her arm three times as a kid trying to climb trees, and even fractured her ankle trying to jump off of one.

The little girl raised an eyebrow at her, "What are you so scared about? It's just a tree."

Kirsten narrowed her eyes down at the girl, "I'm not scared of a lousy tree, I just thought that- that maybe you'd... like― want to climb it, is all." Clementine looked up at her, clearly not buying any of it. "Fine, I'll jump." Clementine smirked at the woman as she moved under the branch she wanted to grab. The woman bent her legs a little and looked over her shoulder, "Watch the pro, kid," she teased the little girl with a grin, jumping up and yanking on the end of the branch. The woman landed on her feet, but was unable to break the branch off. Her arms were raised over her head as she began to yank down while grunting. "Stupid... piece of..." Before the branch could even break, the woman's hands slipped from it, sending the end flying back upwards and scratching Kirsten just under her jaw. "Mother of― Urgh!" She growled, her hand pressing under her jaw as she glanced back at a snickering Clementine.

"I never knew you could be a professional at hurting yourself," she teased, folding her arms at the older woman. Kirsten narrowed her eyes at the little girl before grabbing her by the arm and spinning her around, placing her hands on the little girl's waist, she lifted her up towards the branch. "Hey! Wha― Woah!"

"Grab the stupid thing!"

"Okay! Alright!" She responded, before letting out a sigh. Clementine reached up towards the branch, and with a few stretches, it was just inches away from her grasp... until she felt herself slipping. The little girl began to panic as she tried to grab onto the branch, "I- I'm slipping!"

"You're not slipping!" She called out to the girl, "I've got you!"

"No! I'm slipping!" The little girl yelped back in response as she began to kick her legs in panic, hitting Kirsten just under her upper arms. "Hold tighter!"

"Stop! St― Stop kicking me!" She pleaded, but Clementine was in full panic mode. As the little girl continued to kick, Kirsten's arms began to weaken. Clementine began slipping from her grasp for real this time, which sent her plummeting down to the ground with the root of the tree grazing against her cheek.

The little girl groaned, "Ow..." she mumbled, using her arms to hold her up as she felt her cheek. "It stings..."

Kirsten rubbed her upper arms with her hands as she looked down at the little girl, "What stings?" She asked, kneeling down beside Clementine.

"This..." The little girl turned her cheek to reveal a small graze, nothing too serious. She winced as she tried to stand up, using the tree for balance. Kirsten found it odd that the little girl didn't cry over her injuries, especially how kids her age usually cry over a small knee scrape. Clementine must have been used to pain enough not to shed a few tears over her injuries.

"It's fine," Kirsten replied, "We just need these branches, then we can get cleaned up."

The two girls didn't want to be the one grabbing the branches if this was how hard it was going to get, but Kirsten would rather have a lodge full of relaxation and peace than a lodge full of short tempers and petty arguments.

For the next twenty-five minutes, the girls had to claw, climb, and scratch themselves up the nearby trees to grab onto its branches. They endured little scratches, bumps, and bruises almost everywhere on their bodies for the duration of the time. What surprised them more was that no one could hear them from inside the lodge, especially with all the cussing Kirsten did. With each hopefull attempt, try after try, they began to win some... and lose some.

Clementine would fall.

"Oof!"

Then Kirsten.

"Son of a―!"

Then Clementine would grab onto a branch.

"Got it!"

Then fall.

"Damn..."

Then Kirsten would grab one.

"Yes!" And surprisingly land on her feet, yanking it off the tree.

Then Clementine would fall again.

"Ow-ow-ow-ooow!"

Then Kirsten.

"Urgh! Motherfu―!"

Then a branch was retrieved.

"I got it!"

And then one wasn't.

"Ugh..."

They tortured themselves continuously until the girls finally retrieved enough branches for each group member... and enough scratches to look like they were mauled by a fierce kitten.

"Jesus Christ..." Kirsten huffed out, "We are never... ever... doing this... again..." She declared through heaved breaths, watching the little girl in front of her stand up from the ground with a branch in her hand. She added it onto the pile and they both glanced down at the mess, silence sweeping through for a moment. The little girl looked up at Kirsten through the brim of her hat, placing her hands on her hips.

"You're carrying these."

* * *

"So, yeah..." Clementine trailed off, tiredly, leaning her head on the arm rest of the sofa as she ran her fingers along the newly placed band-aid on her cheek. The entire group stared blankly at the two girls sitting on the sofa, while Carlos cleaned up Kirsten's scratches with a bottle of peroxide and a rag.

Adrian looked down at his daughter unbelievably, folding his arms as he watched her wince slightly. "You know that you could've asked one of us to help you two out there, right?"

She looked up at her father with a shake of her head, "We handled it," she replied exhaustively.

Nick turned to her with a raised eyebrow, "Yeah, barely."

"You're covered in cuts and bruises, both of ya," Luke pointed out with a stern expression. "It wouldn't kill you to ask for help every once in a while, y'know?"

Right now, Kirsten felt like a child being scolded. But the woman had to admit, she had some _serious _determination that ranged from keeping the group up and running to get to their destination quicker, to repeatedly torturing herself just to grab branches for marshmallows. It was stupid. She couldn't understand why, but she noticed a change in herself. She felt herself detaching from her survival smarts, which left her incredibly nervous, but confused.

Was it because she had a sense of protection with her father?

Was it because she was with a lot of people?

Was it because she felt safe in the lodge?

She just couldn't place her finger on it. It could even be the fact that she's so stressed out with keeping things a secret from others, that the built up stress had her thinking recklessly. She felt so tied down to these problems, that she just needed some relief.

The woman let out an irritable breath, "Jesus― _relax. _It's not like I died or anything, and I definitely didn't break an arm again," she said, pointedly looking up at her father as he rolled his eyes, "and Clementine found it fun."

"I..." Clementine began to protest, pushing herself up and turning around to Kirsten, "Yeah, it was..." she agreed with a look of defeat, settling back into her seat.

"It's fuckin' stupid is what it was," Kenny blurted out, glaring at Kirsten.

Sarita was appalled at the man's language, "_Kenny__―!_"

"You let a little girl continuously hurt herself just to get a couple'a fuckin' branches!"

"You're the asshole who wanted her to go with me in the first place!" Kirsten fired back as Kenny folded his arms, "And what's a few bumps and bruises going to do? Kill her? She's been through worse, we all have. This is child's play to her."

Kenny stood silently, unbeknownst to anyone if he was going to say anything back. Instead, he looked towards Adrian almost disappointingly before glancing down at Clementine.

The young girl looked back up at him as she shook her head, "It's nothing, Kenny. I'm fine," she told him.

He paused for a moment, keeping his eyes on Clementine. "Hmph," he grunted, before walking back over to the fireplace where Sarita stood.

Carlos put the cap on the bottle of peroxide and place the rag on his lap, "Would you like a band-aid?" He asked the woman as he stood up from the sofa.

"Do I get a lollipop if I say yes?" She satirically asked. Carlos looked down at her with a deadpan expression before looking over to Adrian.

Her father narrowed his eyes at her, "Kirsten." He spoke sternly.

She looked over to father before childishly adverting back to Carlos, "No, I'm fine," she replied flatly, prompting him to go put his supplies away. Kirsten had to admit; not asking for help when she clearly needed it, wasn't the smartest thing she's done.

* * *

Kirsten felt the joy of waking up under an actual roof, in an actual bed, with actual blankets and actual pillows, for a second night. Her eyes peeled open as she tried to remember where she was for a moment, soon realizing that she was in the lodge. For the past two years, she'd been forgetting where she was whenever she woke up. It reminded her of when she slept over at her friends house as a teenager, and how she'd temporarily forget where she was.

Kirsten pushed the bed sheets off of her body and swung her legs around the side, a swarm of memories flooded into her mind last night once she felt pain all over body. She glanced down at her arms and legs and looked at the small, pale bruises on them. She let a yawn as she stood up from the bed, feeling the scratch under he jaw stretch as she closed her mouth.

After the minor incident with the branches last night, the group (and tension) had settled down quite quickly one the marshmallows were opened. She warned Luke about testing the waters on how visible their relationship was in front of her father, but he just didn't seem to oblige. He acted rather playful with her last night, and much more 'touchy-feely' than usual. Although she wouldn't mind it _too _much, she definitely didn't want him doing it in front of her Dad. She guessed that the night was relaxing enough for him to act more freely than usual.

The woman stumbled over to her clothes at the end of the bed and grabbed her jeans, slipping each leg into them and zipping them up. She reached down to her shirt and put it on, her t-shirt following after it. She took herself over to the dresser and grabbed a hair brush from one of the drawers, brushing her hair until she was able to run her fingers through it. She hadn't had a haircut in two years, often having the reoccurring thought to just cut all of it off. It would be a major relief and not to mention much safer, but she had some sort of commitment to her hair that she just couldn't cut it off, or at the very least cut it short.

She placed the brush down on the dresser and used the hair tie around her wrist to tie her hair into a ponytail, her fringe just falling out of the bunch. As she lowered her arms, she looked closely into the mirror for a while. She looked past the scratch under her jaw and noticed a change in her face. She never really payed attention to what she looked like back at the cabin, but today was different. She looked the same, undoubtedly, but to her she looked different. It could have been the fact that she wasn't slapped in the face with dirt and blood like she used to be back in the less remote areas. Needless to say, her appearance was the last thing on her mind.

Kirsten turned towards the door and walked over to it. She reached down for her boots and put them on before twisting the door knob, and walking into the hallway. But before she could even get the door closed entirely, she bumped into a tall, nervous looking man. "Oh― shit, hey Nick," she greeted, her voice heavy with sleep.

Nick looked down at the woman before looking towards the ground, "How'd you sleep?" He asked, scratching the back of his neck in a clearly irritated manner.

The young woman looked up at him with a skeptical eye, raising a hand to her hip. "Just... _fi_― Are you okay?" She cut herself, showing more interest in his behavior.

The man shrugged, looking around the hallway for a brief moment. "Just thinkin' about that guy... I- I can't believe I pulled the trigger. I fucked up... I feel awful about it," he confessed, sloping down in grief as his eyebrows furrowed. "I just can't shake the feelin' that something's going to happen, you know? Something's not right..."

Kirsten nervously looked down at her feet before pushing her fringe behind her ears. She was slightly skeptical of whether or not Nick had found the picture of Walter and Matthew. She didn't have time to grab the frame and hide it somewhere else, she didn't even know which room she put it in. "You just gotta forget about it, Nick. It was an accident― a- a mistake. That guy could have even been lying about the food, right?" _Wrong._

"Yeah, you're right. We'd 'unno who that guy was," Nick uttered, readjusting his cap by the brim. "Anyway, spoke to your Dad about that Matthew guy, said he'll be back by tomorrow morning."

_Tomorrow morning?! _

There was no way Kirsten was able to hide what had happened after tomorrow morning comes, people would start putting the pieces together and chaos would break out. Who even knew how Walter would react once he finds out? She couldn't let anything slip, no matter the consequences. If people were going to find out, it'd be easier if they weren't told by her.

"You... didn't mention Luke and I, right?" She nervously asked, straying away from the subject. "'Cause I don't what him to know anything about it."

Nick shook his head, "I told him about Howe's and what happened since, y'know, he wanted to get some info on where you've been. But, I didn't tell him. I wasn't sure if you told him or not and I didn't want to risk it," he responded.

Kirsten was relieved for the most part. "Okay... alright, good."

"But you've gotta tell your old man sometime," Nick insisted.

She buried her face into her hands as she shook her head, "God, Nick, not you too," she spoke through her hands, muffling her speech. Nick raised an eyebrow at her, for the most part confused. She glanced up at him exhaustively and let her arms fall to her side, "Luke's been bothering me about this for the past _day_― He actually _wants _my Dad to know about us. I mean― it's just so risky..."

Nick's face still managed to stare back at her confusedly as he folded his arms, "But isn't your Dad cool with Luke? It won't kill him to know." He asked.

"It won't kill him, Nick. It'd kill Luke," she continued. "My Dad's already been on my ass about guys and me. Now that we've got biters out there, do you really think he's going to let me get distracted with boyfriend stuff? Look how much it took Luke to try and convince me, it won't be any easier with my Dad."

"You can't keep this from him forever, sooner or later, he's going to find out," Nick replied. "Do you really want him finding out that you've been keeping this a secret from him and _still _deal with the consequences?" Nick made her silent, she really didn't know what she wanted. Not telling him and having him find out either way would make Adrian lose trust in his daughter, but telling him would probably aggravate him. She knows the outcome of one possibility, but not the other. It sat her right on the fence in her mind.

The only way she could only respond wasn't with words, but with silence.

* * *

It wasn't long until Kirsten sent herself down stairs for food, her stomach was basically empty when she woke up. Nick's words kept worrying her, and she tried her hardest to shake it off, but her mind wouldn't budge. Her eyes adverted towards the tables with empty bowls and cups, only a few people remained seated as they ate away. Walter and Sarita sat down at one of the tables with their bowls pushed aside, indicating that they were finished and having a chat. Luke sat across from Adrian on the other table, with Clementine by his side as she looked up at Luke with a mouth full of peaches.

Kirsten cautiously made her way over to the table, standing at the end of it as she gave a sleepy smile to the table's inhabitants while they spoke.

"...I'm not sure when exactly they'd want t―" Luke cut himself off as he saw his girlfriend standing at the end of the table, looking almost sleep-deprived. She did briefly mention her lack of sleep last night with a mouth full of marshmallows, seeing her looking so tired wasn't much of a surprise to the young man. "Hey, Kirst. We were jus' talkin' about leavin' soon," he told her. Her eyes widened at him as he continued, "When's a good time we should get the group goin'?" He asked, pushing his bowl aside as her father confusedly turned to him.

Adrian quirked an eyebrow at the young man as he rested his elbows on the table, "I- I'm sorry, what?"

Kirsten bit down on her bottom lip nervously, feeling a gut-wrenching drop in her stomach as she folded her arms. "Uhm..." She mumbled, looking down at the little girl who looked up at her worryingly._ Oh no..._

Her father pursed his lips before continuing, "To my understanding, I was sure that she'd be staying here with me." His eyes locked onto Luke almost scarily. He wasn't quite glaring, but giving him a cold stare that felt almost threatening.

Luke didn't want an argument to start, it really was the last thing the group needed; more arguing. He tried his hardest to bite his tongue as he spoke, "Actually," he huffed, "I thought she'd be leavin' with us."

The two men turned to her in need of an answer, she was forcibly wedged in between two sides. Of all the things that just so happened to be brought up, it was one of the most crucial stresses on her mind. She was absolutely torn, she felt stuck in a continuous cycle of worrying and the guilt from what potential consequences that could arise from her choices.

She was lost.

Kirsten pushed her fringe behind her ears as she looked off to the side anxiously, "You know, actually, I― uh... don't know yet...?" She slowly stammered, as the two men looked towards each other.

Adrian stood up from his seat and looked over to his daughter pleadingly, "What do you mean you don't know?" He asked, making his way over to her. "You told me you tried so hard to find me these past couple years, and you finally got what you wanted, Kirsten. Why would you want to leave this place― to leave _me?_"

Luke narrowed his eyes at Adrian, feeling somewhat disgusted. He stood up, gesturing his hand as he spoke. "She'll be a sittin' duck if she stays here, we're all on the run― You can't do that to her!"

The young woman snapped her head over to her boyfriend with a glare, "Luke!" She warned, her eyes staying on his as he walked over to her.

He looked at her pleadingly, he couldn't stand seeing her annoyed or angry. Seeing her sleep-deprived was enough. "You've gotta agree with me here, Kirst. We're your group, you can't just leave us behind while you sit here and die!"

"You think I can't protect my daughter from some sicko with a gun? I used to do it for a goddamn living!" Adrian growled, glaring at the man he once considered a decent person. "There is _no way _my daughter is leaving me for a couple of strangers she's only known for a month!"

Luke was at breaking point, he began to stop biting his tongue and filter what he'd say. It was starting to spill out, all while Kirsten stood in between them and watched anxiously, on the verge of bursting. She knew that Luke could let it slip any moment now, and she wanted to stop him herself, but she was scared that her herself would spill it. "Wh― Strangers?! She ain't just gonna ditch us after all we've done for her― after all _I've _done for her!"

She grew fed up with the arguing, it seemed constant and repetitive. No matter how scared she was to let anything slip, she needed to show how none of bickering solved any issues. "Jesus― Ju- Just stop! Okay?! Stop!" She shouted, sending the men into a silence as they glared at each other. The young woman took a breath, looking at the both of them. "I don't know what I'm going to do, but going at each other's throats isn't going to _make me_ know." Luke turned to her as she let out a sigh, easing his expression. "So can you both just... stop it, aright? Just― please?" She softly pleaded, looking up at her father emptily.

Adrian glanced down at his daughter, maintaining his cold glare before adverting to Luke. He turned his back to the pair and walked away, disappointed that she hadn't decided to stay with him in what he saw was an easy decision.

For him, at least.

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks for reading, please leave a review if you'd like! They're very helpful. c:


	20. Bittersweet Desire

**A/N: Heya! So, uh, _stuff _happens in this chapter... ye- yeah... stuff.**

**I don't want to spoil it too much, so let's start off the chapter with an angsty Carlos, sound good? :)**

* * *

Carlos pursed his lips as he rested his hands on his daughters knees, looking down for a brief moment as he exhaled. He looked up at her bug-eyes and simply took a breath in as he slowly worded his sentence.

"We cannot stay here."

Sarah began to pout. She didn't want to leave the lodge or Sarita behind, she'd made a new friend and enjoyed the big place almost uncontrollably. Not being able to sleep in the big beds and having to convert back to a sleeping bag sprawled out onto some gravel wasn't quite cutting the young girl's newly found standards. "But, Dad... It's safe here, a-and there's a Christmas tree and beds and everything!" She exclaimed, "Just for a little while? _Pleeease?_"

The man shook his head despite not wanting to hurt his daughters feelings, "Sarah, you know we can't do that. Not with the bad people coming for us, we need to keep moving."

As Kirsten sat on the sofa, one leg over the other, her eyes low, and her head resting onto her head, it hurt her to see Sarah's hopes be crushed. It wasn't new these days, but Sarah was the groups only source of optimism and remembrance of innocence. Seeing the light fade from her would be extremely hard to watch, but she knew it had to happen sooner or later.

"Are Kenny and Adrian back yet?" Rebecca chimed in, taking a seat on the sofa with Alvin by her side.

Alvin let out a sigh of relief as he made contact with it, resting his head back. "They better find somethin' other than peaches. Don't get me wrong, they're tasty and all, but I just can't live off it for the next couple days," he admitted.

Rebecca placed a hand on her husband's knee and smiled as she shook her head. "Sure was nice of 'em to go get us some supplies, I don't think we'd make the night without 'em," she insisted. The pair agreed to make sure the group didn't leave empty handed when they decided to get back on the run tomorrow. The group managed to pinpoint a day to leave, but weren't sure what time with the storm creeping up at any moment.

Though she was right. From what Kirsten could remember, her father was always prepared to do a good deed for those who deserved it. And despite the argument he and Luke took part in, he swallowed his pride. But Kirsten didn't know whether she was going to leave with her father's swallowed pride, she couldn't force herself to choose. No matter what perspective she looked at the situation in, no matter how much progress she thought she'd made into thinking about it, she always bounced back.

She couldn't bare to see her father for the last time before walking into a guaranteed short life. She wouldn't be able to just forget all the times she'd cried for her father in the beginning, all the things she did to keep herself alive, just so she could see him again. It'd all go to waste if she turned her back on him. Claire would have journeyed and died for nothing.

But Kirsten had something with her group that she never had before. She preferred being by herself her whole life, with the exception of a few close people. She and Claire didn't join big groups, they were running along with each other most of the time. Being attached to so many people yet knowing the aftermath of a corrupted mind it led to once they died, would usually kill her inside. But the connection she built with the group hadn't run its course yet, nor did she forget the bittersweet taste it left lingering in her mouth. Though this time, she wanted to let herself go through the good times in order to get to the bad. She wanted to be able to look back at her life and not regret having made a connection.

It was something Luke taught her. Luke, yet another factor that led to her not being able to decide. She wished she showed more affection towards Luke the past couple of days instead of holding back and leaving him with a couple of kisses. She didn't want to make herself seem too vulnerable, especially at this stage in their relationship, but she still wanted to show him that she was invested into it as much as he was. She didn't want Luke to think she was taking him for granted.

Kirsten buried her eyes into her hands as she sighed, alerting Rebecca while Carlos and Alvin spoke.

The older woman sat up and walked over to Kirsten, kneeling down in front of her with a grunt before giving her a bland smile. She rested her hand on Kirsten's knee as she glanced up at her, "Hey, Kirst."

Kirsten let out another sigh before removing her hand from her vision, glancing down at the coffee table behind Rebecca. "I... can't decide," she admitted, looking down at her.

Rebecca nodded her head sorrowfully, "I figured," she told her. The woman thought for a moment, cornering her lips as she looked off to the side. "Kirsten, now's the time where you got somethin' to ask yourself. With all that you and Luke have been through, and for as long as you've known each other... Do you think you love him as much as he loves you?"

Woah, _that _caught her off guard.

The young woman silently stared at Rebecca wide eyed for a brief moment; was she able to even call it love? It certainly felt like it, but at the same time, her survival instincts didn't want it to be. She thought that she could control things like this, but apparently not - that was evident. She'd known Luke for a while now, saw him everyday since they met, but she still managed to get a warm feeling in her stomach every time she saw him. She would smile at him uncontrollably and admire him while he did whatever normal thing it is he'd be doing. Kirsten was just never any good at telling people how she felt, she didn't really know how to.

Kirsten tilted her head down to Rebecca's hand, "I'm not good at that kind of stuff," she admitted. "I just... I wouldn't know how to tell him."

"Then you show him."

Once again, Kirsten's eyes widened as she was caught off guard. "You don't mean... right?" She trailed off curiously.

Rebecca looked up at the girl unimpressively, raising an eyebrow at her, "You really think I'm going to suggest that while I'm like this?" She asked, gesturing to her heavily pregnant stomach in an attempt to show her how ridiculous of a question that was. The young woman let out a relieving breath as she leaned back into the sofa, "Besides, that sort of thing is completely up to you and Luke. But what I'm talking about is; no matter how hard you find it to tell him, then you gotta try and show him. He'll catch on."

Kirsten huffed as she cornered her lips, "You know, with a world full of biters out there, you'd expect me to be scared of them and not this."

The older woman chuckled, "Love's always going to be scary, that won't change," she told her, standing up and brushing off her knees. "But on second thought, I think lurkers bite harder than love."

Kirsten hung her head down with a small grin before letting it fade, allowing Rebecca to make her way out of the lounge with Alvin. She wanted to be sure that if her and Luke had to go their separate ways, that he'd know exactly how she felt about him... somehow.

She couldn't let herself hold back.

* * *

"So, what do ya say, Kenny?"

The fisherman used the butt of his rifle to smash the rusty padlock, throwing a few hard whacks until it fell off. "She's your daughter, man. With your girl and Clementine helpin' around at the lodge, we might as well start it back up again for another run," he grinned, causing Adrian to chuckle as he flipped his pocket knife open.

Adrian glanced around, scanning the bushes to see if padlock nonsense and their talking brought any unwanted guests. "I appreciate it," he replied in a hushed tone of voice. "Bu― W- Wait a second, I thought the group wanted the girl to go with them?" He asked, before pushing through into the small shack, his knife wielded.

Kenny stuck close behind him with his rifle loaded, letting it swoop the area for any oncoming walkers. "The hell she is," he grumbled. "She's stayin' with us where it's safe. It'll be too much for us to handle if their group stay any longer. The others leave tomorrow, 'specially Luke and his smart ass boyfriend." Kenny didn't want to make it subtle, he wanted _everyone _to know he didn't like Luke or Nick. Even the two farm boys themselves. There was a brutal tension between Luke and Kenny because of Clementine and the different bonds they shared with the girl, but with Nick? Two hot-headed tempers never mixed well, anyway.

The taller man lowered his knife as he walked over to a wall cupboard, hovering over a makeshift stove. The place look to had been abandoned way before the outbreak had even began, Adrian guessed around ten to twenty years ago considering the corrosion. "They can't stay, they're on the run. But― Hey, go easy on the boy, alright? We had a chat, and he's a good kid. He's just kinda... off, is all," he told Kenny while looking back at him and shrugging.

"And what exactly do you mean by 'off'?" He flatly asked, walking over to and searching other areas.

Adrian sighed, leaning against the corroded counter as he watched Kenny dig through cans. "We got into a little spat this morning about Kirsten. He wanted her to leave with the group tomorrow because of "all he's done for her," but I didn't want her to leave. Though after he said that, it just... it shut me right up. Didn't- uh... didn't know how to respond."

His eyes widened as he turned around to face Adrian, "Woah," he exclaimed. "You think he and your girl...?"

"Don't say it," he replied, obviously bothered as he glared at Kenny. The fisherman backed off and continued to rummage some more as Adrian cooled off for a moment, shaking his head as he folded his arms. "If they were, then it's not like her to act on those feelings. I get it, people have changed in the past two years, but for her? She never really was one to be tampered by emotion, her mindset is strong." Adrian sighed again, glancing down at the group as his voice lowered. "She's the only one I've got left. To me, she's still my little girl. I don't want this kind of shit distracting her from what she really needs to focus on."

Kenny looked over his shoulder at the man and shrugged, "Shit happens, Adrian. You can't stop her from makin' her own decisions. Don't mean ya can't be furious when she fucks up, but you gotta let her deal with her own consequences," he told him.

"I don't want to see her go through the consequences. That's the thing, Kenny," he responded. "I'm sure she knows well enough about the consequences you face when you don't focus out there. She's been alive for this long, hasn't she?"

Kenny's eye caught a metal box sitting under the poorly built bed with no mattress. He scooted over to it and placed his rifle on the ground, reaching his hand out to grab the box. Upon obtaining it, he noticed a dodgy yet small, rusty padlock. He raised an eyebrow as he glanced over to Adrian, "Hey, you still got those handcuff keys on ya?"

"Yeah, for what?" He asked, making his way over to the fisherman.

"The padlock on this box," he replied as Adrian knelt down beside him. "It could have ammo or medicine inside it, something we can nab."

Adrian raised an unimpressed eyebrow as he folded his arms, "So, you're telling me that _handcuff keys... _are going to open a _padlock?_" He asked, a grin creeping up on him.

Kenny rolled his eyes as he grabbed the box and stood up, "You got a better idea, Mr. Padlock Technician?" He teased, handing the box over to Adrian before bending over and picking up his rifle. Ha, padlock technician. Apparently, Kenny seemed to lack common sense.

"Yeah. Actually, I do," Adrian grinned as he stared at Kenny with a mischievous eye. "We smash it."

* * *

There he was, standing outside with his best friend by his side.

Kirsten searched the whole lodge, high and low, looking for Luke. And the one place she forgot to look was outside the double doors. To be honest, she didn't want to do this. She didn't know the outcome, but this time, she had to take a chance. It was something she didn't do quite often, something she tried to refrain from. She thought it'd be easier if her Dad didn't know about what her and Luke had either. That way, it would be easier for her to get over it when Luke left.

Because she decided to stay.

After days of racking her brain for an answer to what she truly wanted, she realized that she'd done too much to get herself where she is now, with her Dad. Claire would have died for nothing if Kirsten left her Dad in a ski lodge while she headed up north. She couldn't bring herself to lose him, not again.

She finally decided to push herself outside, letting the doors shut behind her. "Hey, Nick," she greeted him as the two of them turned around to face her. "Can you give us a minute?" She asked, clutching onto her arm. Nick glanced over at Luke for a moment before nodding his head, walking up to the double doors and going back inside the lodge.

Luke glanced down at the ground while she walked up to him, "You okay?" He asked her. She nodded her head and leaned against the barrier, pushing her fringe out of her eyes before folding her arms. "What's wrong?" He asked. Luke had a feeling that he knew what was wrong, he just had to hear it for it to be true.

Kirsten took a small breath in, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him while she told him. "I just... wanted to tell you that I— uh... I can't go with you," she mumbled. "I don't want to leave you and I don't want to leave the group, but it's just something I need to—"

"Kirst, I know." His low voice almost broke her in half, she couldn't do this, but she knew she had to.

She shook her head as she sighed, letting a small silence sink for a moment. "I've done things... things I didn't want to do. Just to make sure I could see my Dad again." Kirsten paused, "I can't let all of that go to waste."

Luke hung his head down, his eyes kept glued to the ground as they were low. "And you and I?" He asked her, "Is that supposed to go to waste instead?"

"Don't do that to me, Luke," she told him with a cracking voice, glaring down at the ground. She looked up at him, "You can't do that to me, okay? I- I already feel guilty enough as it is," she pleaded.

He shook his head as he moved off the barrier, his lips curving into a frown. "I'm- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." He sighed, "I just don't want to leave without you. None of us do, y'know?"

She nodded her head at him, "Believe me, I don't either. But I'm not losing my Dad again, I can't do that to him," she told him. Luke couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions. He was sad, he was angry, heartbroken would be an understatement. He wanted to believe that he could live without her, but who was he fooling? Kirsten herself didn't even know how she was doing this, it was killing her. She glanced over to him and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly.

He pulled her in and wrapped his arms around her. This time, he was really considering not letting her go. She cautiously let her arms hold him as he hugged her tighter than she squeezed his hand. "Stay... if you have to. Just don't forget that I want you to be happy 'cause... I love you."

_Ouch. _

She pulled away from him with a look of concern. She wasn't ready to say it, but it sat right at the tip of her tongue. "I- I... I'll miss you."

So instead, she swallowed it.

Luke looked down at her confusedly as she widened her eyes. She forcibly wrapped her arms around him for a second time just so she couldn't see the confusion in his face. She'd rather Luke's silence than his questioning.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey guys! So sorry for the delay, I was dealing with a bit of writers block and I've been trying to think for a new story (which is Tales From The Borderlands, not The Walking Dead. Sorry). But it's all good now! I've been forgetting to add honorable mentions, so here they are.

**XxClemClemxX: **Yay! You updated! I like the fact that this chapter kind of builds up to Adrian soon knowing of his daughter and Luke, especially when Luke and Adrian were scouting! I seriously thought that Luke was going to slip and say something about them. You did a nice job, as always!

**Well I hope you liked this chapter then! Adrian's really speculating, thrown in with a bit of doubt. Thanks for reviewing!**

**XxClemClemxX: **Aww. I kind of feel bad for Adrian. I hope Kirsten can make it up to him. But anyway, nice chapter. I love the little branch part that you added.

**(Had to add another one of your reviews, they're just so cute.) I thought adding the branch part would add a little humor into the story, I don't want it to always be depressing and stuffs. But thank you!**

**Lost In The Tides Of Fangirl: **How? How are you so good at writing?

**Ahh! I don't know? Thank you! haha**

**The Writer's Day: **I see the new photo you got up there ;)

**;)**

Aaaand, those were the HM's. Don't hold back in your reviews, guys! I love any type of reviews (you know, obviously not hate ones), so don't be afraid to send long ones if you'd like! Thanks for reading! :)


	21. Warmness On The Soul

**A/N: Hey, wow- I am so incredibly sorry for the really long wait. It shouldn't take me almost a month to update, but with this chapter I had to keep re-writing since I'm not so skilled in writing certain scenes. So please forgive me for that, I hope my new (and sort of exhausting) experience is well worth the wait. Also, school has indeed wrapped up, so I'm on summer holiday. Hopefully you can expect frequent updates.**

**On a side note: Hype for the Michonne mini-series! So! Much! HYPE!**

* * *

Kirsten sat at the empty dining table with her knife in her hand, spinning the tip of it against her finger as she drowned in guilt. The hard part was over, she told Luke what she decided. She didn't want to lack the emphasis on _hard, _breaking Luke like that was torture - for both of them. Now was the part where she was supposed to make someone happy, all while she wallowed in the bitter-sweetness. She debated with herself on whether it was a good idea to avoid Luke altogether, just to create some distance so it wouldn't hurt as much. But she thought it'd leave Luke thinking something else, when that's the completely opposite of what she wants. Avoiding him wouldn't make staying any easier on the both of them, it just added more strain on their relationship.

"Hey kiddo, what'd ya need?" Adrian called out as he approached the table, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder as she looked up at him. He and Kenny returned from their run with boxes of supplies, figuring that they could be packed and ready to go when the group were about to head off tomorrow.

She glanced down for a brief moment before switching her gaze back up to him. "Just wanted to tell you I was staying, is all. Nothing too serious, I guess." She sounded like she was trying to make herself believe that. The entire situation was serious and she just couldn't seem to let these attachment feelings go. As much as survival instinct wanted to kick in and push Luke away once and for all, her mind denied her of that option.

Adrian should have felt happy about this - and he did, but guilt seemed to linger in his mouth, and he couldn't help it. Things just seemed to be beyond the two's control. He slowly nodded his head as he took his hand from her shoulder, "Alright. That... that's good. We could use the help around here," he told her with a smile.

She nodded her head and sheathed her knife before letting her arms rest back onto the table. She pursed her lips as she pushed her fringe out of her eyes, keeping her eyes on her hands. "Glad to help then," she unconvincingly said. Adrian noticed the feelings of conflict, it deprived her of her normal self. As selfish as it sounded, he was just glad tat his daughter was here with him. That's all he needed.

He furrowed his eyebrows as he moved around the table and sat across from her, "Look, I know it must be hard with them leaving. And I know you're scared about the Carver situation―"

"I'm not scared about it."

Adrian let out an exhale as he looked back up at her, "I know that you don't feel safe here because of Carver, but we'll do everything we can to keep him from getting to us if he even gets up here."

Kirsten looked up at her father seriously as she stopped fiddled with her fingers, "Whether or not it's 'us' or 'me'... He's still out for them," she told him with a stern voice.

"As long as they keep moving, they should be fine," he assured her.

"But for how long?" She asked, her eyebrow furrowed as she tilted her head. She exhaled silently as she casts her eyes low, "When we escaped, Rebecca said they'd have no idea what they'd do without me. Even if that's not true, how long are they going to last out there anyway?" Kirsten couldn't stop herself from worrying. The group were good people, her people. They didn't deserve to die at the hands of Carver. No one did.

Adrian shook his head, looking straight into her eyes. "Fighting it is only going to put strain on yourself. People _die_― We don't stop _dying._ There's no point in risking your own life so soon to protect those from what _you_ can't fight." There it was, another truth engraved into Adrian's words. But would it count as risking her life just to prolong what was going to inevitably come? Just to spare a few more memories, ones they can hold for the rest of their short lives.

Kirsten looked down at her hands with her eyes low, tilting her head slightly to the side as she glanced back up at him with expressionless gaze.

He was right.

* * *

Walter's voice chimed as he invited everyone back to the dinner table, seemingly for the last time for the group that were leaving tomorrow.

Kirsten sat down with her group this time, knowing full and well that she'll be sitting down with her Dad and Kenny for the days to come. Clementine wanted to sit with Kenny before she left with the group, and Luke joined her just to make sure Kenny wasn't pushing his "Luke's a dork" agenda onto her. Sarita and Walter sat with the group and kicked up conversation as usual, just to get a nice chat in before they left. Adrian guessed that the storm Kenny kept mentioning would arrive sometime during the night, maybe earlier than expected since the clouds looked quite dark during the day.

Luke couldn't help but look past Kenny and Adrian and take glances at Kirsten on the other table. The table was buzzing with conversation. They'd all heard of the news by now, so the last thing they wanted was to have a silent dinner. It was the last time they were going to see her, despite Kirsten's change of attitude, she wasn't as silent as she normally is during dinner or conversation.

Although Luke wanted to join in, sit next to her and tell her how much he was going to miss her, he couldn't bring himself to do it in front of everybody. He wanted to be alone with her, the old her. He wanted her to just give him a shred of her old self before he left, and not the one who kept silent or the one who looked down at the ground during conversation. He wanted the one that smirked at him, the one who told him how much of an idiot he was when trying to impress her. The one who would maintain eye contact without feeling weird about it. The one that kissed him on impulse and giggled about it straight after.

He missed Kirsten, the old one. And he just wanted to hear her tell him she loved him before he left.

Kenny snapped the younger man out of his thoughts as he caught him staring, his voice causing Luke to turn his eyes over to him. "So, I'm guessin' you guys' plan is to still head up north. Try to find Wellington, huh?" He asked, shoving a spoonful into his mouth.

Luke nodded his head as he stared down at his food, "Uh, somethin' like that," he replied.

Adrian and Kenny exchanged looks, Luke wasn't all that cheery as he normally was. The pair noticed how distracted he seemed, even Clementine eventually caught onto it. "Well, there looks to be a storm rolling around soon. We wouldn't want your group having to go through the rain, so I suggest waiting until it's over."

Kenny's head snapped towards Adrian as he narrowed his eyes at the man, "Who knows when that'll be?" He spoke rhetorically through the food in his mouth.

"We're not sending them through the damn rain, Kenny," he forcefully replied. "Besides, it should be ending tomorrow."

Clementine placed her spoon down and grabbed onto her cup, "Do you know when?" She asked, raising it to her mouth and taking a few sips.

The bearded man looked down at her, "It don't matter, darlin'. You'll be stayin' with us in the lodge," he told her.

Luke and Clementine both widened their eyes, though Luke's were quickly narrowed at him. "Wh― Excuse me? The hell she is," he retorted. This was just _perfect, _wasn't it? First Kirsten and now Clementine? Though this time, Clementine wasn't obliged to stick with family― she had no family here. Luke's clearly distressed caught the attention of his group at the other table, including Kirsten's.

Clementine shook her head at the older man as she placed her cup down, "Kenny, I can't leave my friends behind. I need to go with them."

Kenny looked down at her rather shocked, he couldn't believe that she'd pick the group over someone she knew longer. Especially as he saw it as Clementine picking Luke over him. "Why would ya wanna leave with this idiot, Clem? You like it here at the lodge. You've got me, Sarita, Walt, Adrian and Kirsten. You don't gotta go back out there anymore, you've got it made for you here!" The mere mention of Kirsten's name turned Luke's stomach into a twist, and it didn't help that it was used to further Kenny's point. Though he was also appalled at the fact that Kenny put him down just to appeal to a little girl who had no intention on staying.

Adrian nudged Kenny with his elbow as he stared him down, "Are we really starting this again?" He asked him, clearly irritated.

Kirsten could just tell they were arguing about something again, only this time, it didn't sound like her name was in the mix. Rebecca tapped on Kirsten's arm across the table, catching her attention as she leaned over. "What are they going on about now?" She asked in a hush voice, trying not to alert more people as Kirsten looked over her shoulder.

The young woman sighed, looking back over to Rebecca. "Clem, I think," she guessed, standing up and stepping out of her seat. "Time to go save her from an earful," she told her as she nodded. "It'll be a challenge," she mumbled to herself as she made her way over to the table.

"You can't make her stay if she doesn't want to," Luke replied in defense. "She'll be fine with us, anyway. She's been fine with us the entire time before we got here."

Clementine looked up worriedly at the two men, "Please, stop fighting―"

"What the hell do you know about raisin' a kid?!" he retorted, his voice angering. "She'll be even better here with me!"

Luke could've thrown a low blow to his comment, going off of what Clementine told him about Kenny's kid. Though he didn't have the heart to do it, nor was he going to argue in front of his approaching girlfriend, knowing that it was the last thing she'd want before he left. Instead, Luke glanced over at the other table where Nick sat irritably, overhearing the conversation.

Kirsten stumbled into the conversation, welcomed by the arguing that Kenny and Luke never seemed to put at rest. "Clementine," she called out, catching the little girl's attention. "What's going on?" She asked her, walking around the table and taking a seat next to her.

Kenny looked over to the girl with a stern look, "I'll tell ya what's goin' on―!"

"Wait a sec'," Kirsten cut him off, looking back over to Clementine and leaving Kenny with an angry expression. "Clem, what's going on?" She asked again as Adrian glanced over at Kenny with warning.

Clementine's eyes switched between Luke and Kenny before meeting Kirsten's, an unsettling silence blew across the table as she cleared her throat. "Kenny wants me to stay here at the lodge with him."

"She's stayin' here if she knows what's good for her! She ain't goin' back out there and live like a fuckin' animal," Kenny growled, narrowing his eyes at Kirsten. It was as if the girl couldn't speak for herself without being influenced by Luke. At least in Kenny's mind.

"Staying here is only going to get her killed. Carver knows she's with us," Kirsten replied before looking back at Clementine worriedly.

Kenny shook his head in disagreement, "That don't matter― If you're stayin', then she's stayin' too," he stubbornly rebutted.

"This is different, Kenny―"

"How the hell could it be any different?!"

"Because it just is, okay?!" Kirsten didn't like raising her voice, at least not inside a building. But Kenny didn't seem to get it through his sturdy mindset that Clementine wasn't safe here. She didn't want to argue, let along suffer more of Kenny's angry side. She looked towards Adrian as she sighed, "Dad?" She called out as she hoped he'd somehow convince the fisherman.

Adrian uneasily glanced over at his daughter before looking over to his unhappy friend. "Kenny... she wants to leave," he told him. "She _needs _to leave. So let her."

* * *

Kirsten felt like nothing was as relaxing as a shower after a stressful day - despite the water being cold. The fact that she didn't want to dry her hair and use up electricity didn't help either. Nonetheless, it felt nice just to get out of her clothes for a bit. She didn't even know the showers were working until Luke sat down next to her with damp hair. She figured that he went outside in the rain but his clothes were dry, so as soon as she told her, it's as expected that she bolted upstairs.

The young woman didn't bother searching around for the clock in the upstairs hallway, she knew that it was late into the evening. Despite the lack of sleep she'd been getting, she wasn't as tired as she normally would be. Out of all the things she could be doing, like packing the group's supplies or actually sleeping, the one thing she really wanted to do was to be with Luke. The entire 'keep my distance' stance wasn't cutting it for her, in fact it was only making things hurt more. She'd rather spend her last night with him in his arms than in an empty bed, thinking about how she got in this situation in the first place.

She glanced down at the boots she held in her hand and her hair band around her wrist, noticing that she stood in front of the bathroom door for a moment, wallowing in her thoughts. She began to walk forward until she reached her bedroom door, dropping her boots just beside the door frame as she heard footsteps creeping up the stairs, sounding intentionally careful not to be too loud.

"Is the bathroom free?" A voice whispered as they approached.

Kirsten lifted her head to see her father just a few meters away from her, "Just about," she replied to him as she began to head for the stairs.

"Hey," he called out to her as he stopped in his tracks, turning towards her direction. She looked over her shoulder and peered at him. "Tomorrow is going to be hard for you, I get it... Just promise me you'll try and get a good sleep, alright?" He asked her, unintentionally leaning forward as he awaited a response.

Kirsten let her eyes drop to the ground as she turned away from her Dad. She knew he meant well, but what more could he want from her? If she couldn't get a good sleep during the most relaxing of nights, then she sure as hell couldn't get one during one of the most stressful of ones. Adrian didn't want to push her, he hated making her feel uncomfortable, no matter how much he wanted an answer. Without disturbance, he let her walk down the stairs without further question.

She let her hand glide along he rail as walked down step by step, spotting Luke and Nick on the sofa near the fireplace at the same time. As she got to the bottom, Nick's eyes immediately averted to Kirsten and all chatter seemed to end all of a sudden.

She approached the back of the sofa and looked at Nick curiously, "What? I'm not special enough to know what's going on?" She sarcastically asked, placing her hands on the sofa head as Luke cracked a grin.

Nick shook his head in dismissal, "Nothin' is goin' on here," he responded casually, raising from his seat. "Just goin' to bed."

Luke waved his best friend off as Kirsten scrutinized his abrupt departure. "G'night," he said to his best friend before glancing up at the woman above him. Nick walked up the stairs awkwardly and out of sight, leaving just Kirsten and Luke in the room.

As Kirsten shrugged off Nick's absurdity and walked around the sofa, she noticed her Dad's rifle sitting against the one-seater. It meant he was keeping watch and most likely spending the night on the sofa, she figured her Dad would be used to it by now given his previous career choice. She took a seat down next to Luke, letting herself lean her head on his arm as she let out a sigh, not knowing herself whether it was relaxed or stressed. She caught herself between the two.

Luke put his arm around her as he glanced down at her with a small grin, "Feels good bein' clean for once, don't it?" He asked her as she nodded into his chest.

"Feels even better being able to recognize myself in the mirror without... y'know, the dirt?" She pointed out in a soft mumble. She began to grin, "And you don't look too bad with wet hair."

He smirked down at her as she tilted her head up to him, "I guess you can say I try," he responded, earning a small giggle from the younger woman. The pair stared at the flames that lit the room, nothing but each other were going through their minds, hopelessly running in circles. It started a war of silence where one of them wanted to say something, but just didn't know how. It ate at them, wanting to blurt out anything and everything, but they could only start out so little. Luke tried to break the ice, in anyway that he could, even if he had to be full-on. "You― uh... You seem pretty hellbent on stayin', don't ya?" He questioned her uneasily.

Again, she let out a sigh. "I don't have a choice," she told him, lifting herself off of him as she looked down at the ground.

"I know," he replied, clearing his throat. "It's just... I can't see myself leavin' this place without you," he told her. As if the guilt couldn't get any worse, Luke was beginning to pour out. There wasn't anything Kirsten could do about it, no matter how much of a punch in the stomach it felt. "I can't imagine walking out of here without you by my side, pokin' fun of me or..." Luke turned to her with a smile, "Occasionally showin' your nice side," he continued. Kirsten couldn't say much, only giving off a small, yet painful smile back. He saw how much she wanted to be silent, but he hated it. He absolutely hated it. She was miserable in this position, and he wanted something out of her before this all ended. Whether it was a confession, or an apology, or just a complete out pour. He wanted anything. His eyebrows furrowed as she began to stand up, his eyes not leaving her face. "Give me somethin', Kirsten," he told her. "I need to hear somethin' from you. Just― ...Don't be silent," he pleaded, leaning forward.

She gazed down at him as she looked over her shoulder, taking an audible breath in and out. The amount of words she wanted to spill out were uncountable, but her mind could barely register them into a sentence fit enough to tell him what they meant. Though for the first time in her life, she didn't want to appear forceful or forward with her words. She wanted to slow down the moment, beat around the bush as much as she wanted just to save herself some time with Luke. Though she knew what good it wouldn't do her, time was still going to go by no matter how much she took things slowly.

Kirsten could only look at where it put her. Stuck in a situation where she only wished she _showed_ how much she really cared. She wanted to make it up to him, to thank him. To take one last step forward before stepping out forever. It's all she really wanted.

She nodded her head as she leaned back into the sofa, turning her head to him. "I know," she mumbled. "This whole time we took things slow because of me... and I'm starting to regret that. I can't just leave you without anything but forgettable memories ― something you can let go of. You deserve more than that, something we're both okay with."

Luke didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but he was sure she was saying something he thought he'd never hear from her mouth in a million years. But he didn't want her to force herself into something she didn't want to do, he didn't want her to feel like it was an obligation. "You don't owe me anythin', you know that―"

"It's not just because I have to... I don't have to. I know that," she cut him off. Kirsten paused for a moment, her eyes following the hand that reached out to Luke's. "It's because I want to." Again, Luke couldn't understand how he managed to get himself into a situation like this ― or how he even managed to get Kirsten into his life. It was unbelievable to him, as if he was stuck in a day dream. "You've helped me. You stopped me from making stupid mistakes that I knew I'll just end up regretting later on... but you never pushed me to where I didn't want to be."

"A- And you don't think this is one of 'em?" He asked her, a hint of fright in his voice. "Another stupid mistake?"

She couldn't help but squeeze his hand. He was looking out for her ― yet again. She cornered her lips and let out a shaky breath, "A stupid mistake I'm willing to do," she replied. "As long as it's with you." Her hand slipped from his as she stood on again, only to be held out to him. He gazed at her hand, still awe-struck. She wanted him to take it so badly, he just didn't know if he could. She could see his doubt as he glanced over to her father's rifle. It seemed like such a big offer and would have most likely got caught up in her mind too if the tables were turned. She looked over her shoulder as she followed his eyes before turning back to him, lowering her eyes. "You mean too much to me to let you go, taking you for granted. The least I can give back to you, is making sure you won't forget me," she told him as she began to walk around the sofa, leaving Luke's eyes to follow her.

He sat there in disbelief, the feeling wouldn't shake. He didn't know what drove Kirsten to want to do something so drastic, something he'd never thought she do ― at least not in the near future. She was drawn to the idea of survival instinct, of keeping herself alive and out of risky situations ― no matter the cost. Choosing to do this held so many risks, but she managed to turn a blind eye to all of it.

Just for Luke.

"Kirst― I..." He couldn't finish his sentence, his mouth wouldn't let him. Instead, he took a breath to calm himself. "A- Are you sure about this?" He asked, turning around to face her as she stopped behind the sofa.

She looked down at the ground before her eyes met with his. "I'm not sure about a lot of things, Luke." She quietly replied. "But this...?" She grinned, "This isn't one of those things."

Her smile was contagious, he couldn't help but mimic it as he got up from the sofa and approached her. For the first time in a while, Luke felt genuinely happy. Happy enough to press his lips against hers without caution this time, knowing that she wasn't going to feel uncomfortable. His hand reached up to her face, but she managed to pull away from him before he pushed her deeper into the kiss. Instead of continuing, she grabbed his hand and gave him yet another contagious smile. _God, _were her smiles so complimenting to her face. He felt like he was seeing something only seen once in a million years and that he was so lucky to witness it. She began to pull him by his hand as he lagged behind and she headed for the stairs, trying her best to be quiet as she didn't want her stomping feet to wake anybody up.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she spotted her father exiting the bathroom. She barely noticed that she managed to let go of Luke's hand almost instinctively, it was something she learned to do quite often in the lodge. He looked down at her quite nervously before she continued to walk down the hallway with Luke just behind her.

Adrian began to walk towards the stairs before he looked up from the ground and saw his daughter and Luke coming to opposite way. "You going to bed, kiddo?" He asked in a hush tone of voice as Kirsten stopped at her bedroom door, letting Luke walk past her.

She nodded her head in response as she noticed her Dad walking past his bedroom door, "Are you?" She asked as she pretended to place her hand on her bedroom door. "Everyone else is sleeping."

"Someone needs to keep watch down there," Adrian replied. "Might as well crash on the sofa too, you know?" He told her as he finally made his way to her. He gave his daughter a kiss on the forehead with a hand placed on her cheek. Luke glanced at Kirsten before he forced himself into his room, shutting the door behind him. Watching Kirsten interact with her father in such a family-oriented way made Luke think of Kirsten as a young girl. That certainly didn't help the mood the young couple were in at all. "Night, kid," Adrian said as he flashed her a smile.

"Goodnight, Dad," she replied as she smiled back. Her eyes followed his figure as he began to walk past her and to the stairs, waiting for him to get out of sight. Once he was, she took her hand off the door knob and stepped over to Luke's door.

This was it. Not only was it a giant step for the both of them, but it was the last night they were together. Sure, second thoughts never stopped flooding the woman's mind, but she forced herself to ignore them. She was tired of making mistakes that she would regret, she wanted to be able to go into a mistake as risky as this one and come out the other end not regretting it. She wanted this, and she knew she did. Hell, she didn't even _want _to consider this a mistake.

She took a few last glances around the hallway before pushing herself into his room and turning around to shut the door, making an effort to do it quietly. As she released the door knob from her hand and turned around on her heels, Luke already caught her back into the kiss she broke away from. To her surprise, Luke was much more rough and impatient than he usually was. Which wasn't a bad thing given the situation, it only made her want to be as rough and impatient back.

Luke enjoyed the feeling of someone playing with his hair, which made the kiss much more exciting when her fingers traveled through his hair, pushing herself deeper into the kiss. She felt his hand slide down to the arch back and push her body closer to his, filling the gap between them. They looked almost inseparable, their first time seemingly being their last. And although they knew by tomorrow nightfall, they wouldn't even be in the same building, they still felt inseparable.

He used the same hand that brought them closer to reach up towards her face and slowly separate them, his fingers moving the wet strands of her hair out of her face just so he could see her a little more clearer. He couldn't help but smile at unfamiliar look in her eyes, she felt so struck by his touch, it's as if the world around her didn't matter anymore. The biters in the forest didn't matter. The survivors didn't matter. Her own Dad didn't seem to matter right now, either.

As she looked up at him, it was an almost instinctive move to have her hands fall to the hem of her t-shirt and grab onto it. She pulled it off along with the shirt underneath, leaving her in a tank top with the slight chill in the room to bite at her bruised arms from the incident yesterday. Luke began to question himself if this was really happening, something he seemed to think on and off for the past five minutes.

Luke couldn't seem to last a few seconds before capturing her lips in another kiss, although their bodies weren't as close. This gave room for Luke grab the ends of his sweater and keep her in the kiss before he broke away and pulled it off along with the t-shirt he wore underneath. As he did, Kirsten grabbed onto his hand the first chance she got and pulled him over to the bed as he threw his clothes onto the ground.

Kirsten ran her fingers through his damp hair again as she pulled him closer to her face, letting their lips slowly lock as he set himself down at the end of the bed. She pushed herself into the gap between Luke's legs in an attempt to get closer as they continued to kiss. She was both induced with excitement and relaxation, Luke both calmed her and made her feel like she was in a whole different universe all at the same time. Moments like this had them both feeling as if they'd known each other's touch, each other's taste, and each other for their whole lives.

Luke's lips began to shift from hers as it started to travel down the side of her face and to her neck. He could feel his lips press against the scratch under her jaw as she let tilted her head slightly to the side to allow him access. His tongue glided across the skin of her neck as she let out a sharp breath, followed by her fingers dragging against his neck. His hands moved from her back to the front of her waist and he grabbed onto her tank top, parting his lips from her neck. His eyes seemed glued to her body as he began to peel the tank top off of it, revealing nothing but her bare skin and bra as the chill began to bite at the entire top half of her body.

He threw her shirt on the ground before finally taking his eyes off her body, adverting them back to her face. She took his hand as he pulled her to sit on him, once again filling the gap in between their bodies as Luke's lips swept under her neck, continuing to kiss it. He felt the vibrations on his lips from the slight moans and gasps she tried to restrain herself from, and her hair falling in front of her shoulders as he could feel the strands on his face. His arms held onto her tightly as he began to let himself fall backwards onto the bed, pulling her on top of him as she readjusted herself to comfort.

As she tore away from their kiss, her hands began to unbutton her jeans before she stood up and off the bed to take her pants off. Luke rested his head against his arm as he watched her, occasionally catching a smile from her as she glanced up. He felt like the luckiest man in the world― not that there were many left. But just the sight of Kirsten had him completely awestruck, and wasn't even fully unclothed yet.

Her pants were kicked off to the side, which was enough to snap him out of the trance Kirsten unintentionally had on him. As he held out his hand to her, she keenly grabbed it and began to crawl back on top of her lover with another one of her contagious smiles. But before their lips could touch again, Luke rolled both her and himself over until he was on top of her, finding her lips again with his. She could feel her heart beating in her ears as they continued to kiss, his hands touching and feeling anywhere they could just to get a reaction out of her.

He began to move down to her neck again as he hovered over her body, for some reason she could feel his lips more intensely than before. Whether she was more into the moment than previously, she liked it much more regardless. The touch of his tongue against her skin had her gasping with her head falling back, her fingers digging into his neck ever so slightly.

As Luke readjusted himself to sit on top of her, his lips never left her neck and soon traveled back up to her own. Though she felt like this was all missing something, it felt uncompleted. Luke hated seeing her keep her head down and her words silent, she knew that. By the time she heard him fiddling with his belt, she wanted to speak up before things escalated.

"Wait," she whispered, breaking the kiss, but keeping him close. "Just― wait."

Luke looked down at her worriedly, "What's wrong?" He asked before tilting his head to hear her quietened voice.

Kirsten grinned, "No, nothing's wrong," she told him. "Can you look at me?" She asked. Luke obliged and adverted his eyes to hers, though he had to admit, there were a few distractions taunting him. She exhaled as she began to smile, "I'm glad you convinced me to stay at the cabin," she said. "I'm glad you took time to help me, to put my needs in front of yours, and I'm glad I met you at the community. You mean a lot to me and I can't imagine how shitty it's going to be without you." There it was. Luke wanted anything out of her, and that's what got. The out pour, the confession, "Also, sorry I kicked your ass when we first met." And the apology. "But I just want you to know that... I love you. Even when I thought I shouldn't, and even when you thought I didn't. I still did, and I always will."

A grin was carved out into Luke's face, his hand pushing her hair out of her face as she smiled back. "Hey," he whispered. "I love you too."


	22. The Calm Before

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry for not doing honorable mentions last chapter. I really didn't want to break the mood or whatever, y'know? If you notice that there isn't HM's, it's either because of that reason or I just simply forgot to add them. Other than that, let's get into it! Don't forget to review when you're done, it helps out a crap load!**

**Also, sorry that this is three weeks late. I literally started writing this as soon as I posted the last chapter, but I guess it got away from me for a bit. I tried to get it out before Christmas, but then Christmas actually happened. I got derailed. Sorry!**

**IMPORTANT****: I'd also like to add that in certain chapters I'll be adding a song name with its artist that I think fits the chapter. This won't be for all chapters, only just a handful or two. I just think it compliments the mood of the chapter and maybe even gives you a better understanding of it.**

**Happy reading!**

* * *

**PRESENT DAY **

**8:57AM**

Rebecca twirled her fork around in her cold hands, staring across the table at her husband finished up eating his food. As much as she didn't want to go back out there, she didn't want to be captured by Carver even more. She understood it was do or die, and despite the arguments that broke out during the past three days, everyone seemed to like it at the lodge. The cabin was cozy, sure, but the lodge seemed much more homelike. She felt as if she was in one big family.

"You done, Beccy?"Alvin asked from across the table, snapping her out of her thoughts as she gave him a smile, as well as the rest of the group who sat at the table.

Rebecca nodded. "Just about," she responded, placing her fork in the bowl as she pushed it forward. Alvin stood up from the table and grabbed his bowl along with hers, placing them on top of each other as stepped out of his seat. "Thanks, silly bear," she said as he turned around and flashed a brief smile before making his way over to the food bar.

"When do you think Luke will be awake?" Carlos, who was sitting next to her, asked quietly as he ate his food.

Rebecca raised an eyebrow as she turned to him confusedly, "Why?" She spoke softly in response.

He placed his fork down and leaned over to the pregnant lady, "Kenny said the storm looked like it's going to hit today. I'm not sure about you, but I want to get everyone out and find shelter before it hits."

"Right," Rebecca responded. "When do you think we should get goin'?" She asked, looking around at the dining area and to her group members.

Carlos shrugged, "As soon as Luke wakes up. It's our best option."

The woman nodded her head as she glanced down at the table, realizing that Carlos's cheerful daughter wasn't by his side like usual. "Where's Sarah?" Rebecca asked, looking at the man.

"She just went to the bathroom, she should be down in a moment," he replied. Carlos's head tilted upwards as a voiced caught his attention.

"Alright, Doc," Adrian called out as he approached the table. "Your group's supplies are packed and ready by the door, you can take all the time you need to get everything else rounded up," he warmly told him with a sweet smile.

Carlos looked up at the man astoundingly, "You really didn't have to, Adrian. Your group has done so much already."

The man shook his head as he swatted his hand at Carlos, "Hey, without you guys, my daughter wouldn't of found me. It's the least I can do for you all." Adrian spoke sincerely if he said he genuinely liked the group Kirsten came with. It could've been because of the induced happiness from finding his daughter, but he really felt like he owed the group back.

Alvin returned to the table with his hands shoved into his pockets, only removing one to readjust his glasses. "Damn, how long's Luke goin' to sleep for? We gotta get goin' before that storm," he pointed out, annoyed but with a hint of sarcasm. "I'm gonna go wake him up," he declared as her turned around.

Nick's eyes immediately widened before he spun around in his seat. "Wait!" He called out to Alvin, catching his attention. "We should― uh, we should let him sleep a bit more. He can take watch tonight with the extra sleep," he quickly suggested through stutters, hoping he'd halted the other man.

He glanced down at the ground as he shrugged his shoulders, "Good idea." Nick mentally sighed in relief as he turned back around in his seat. _That _was a close call.

The group sat silently as Adrian leaned back and forth on his feet with his hands in his pockets. After a moment of thought, he decided it was a good idea for Kirsten to have some time with the group before they headed out. After all, they were still close to her. And although Adrian was adjusting to his daughters' new way of thinking, he thought it was refreshing to see her embrace people rather than push them away.

"Welp," Adrian muttered, "I'm going to get Kirsten before you guys leave, I'm sure she'd want to say goodbye," he told the group in an awkward manner. He hated the fact that they were even leaving, Kirsten showed some sort of positive emotions when around the group. Like laughing with Rebecca at the table or her smiley conversations with Luke. It just hurt to know that she wasn't going to be like that much anymore.

Nick, on the other hand, didn't have anything to say to stop Adrian from going upstairs. He was stuck, and the last thing he wanted was another argument before the group left. Or worse, an actual fight.

Alvin leaned over the table as Adrian walked away, quieting his voice. "Luke and Kirsten slept in separate rooms, right?" He questioned before looking over his shoulder.

Rebecca nodded in response as Nick raised his hands to his temples, almost fearing for his best friend. "Not last night they didn't," he anxiously announced. The group turned to him suddenly, Carlos and Rebecca exchanging their fair share of concerning looks.

The pregnant woman scrutinized Nick as she folded her arms, "And how exactly do you know this?" She asked with a skeptical yet bitter voice.

Nick reluctantly shifted in his seat to face everyone, "Alright... I may, or _may not, _have told Luke to go for it last night," he slowly eased out. They were confused again, of course.

Clementine crinkled her nose as her and Alvin glanced at each other. "...What does that even mean?" Clementine asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rebecca shook her head at Clementine before narrowing her eyes at Nick. "And why the hell did you think that was a good idea?" She harshly spat, "Did you forget that her _father _is in the same building?!"

Nick raised his hands up defensively, "I didn't want him to be sad when we left! What good is he gonna be if he's depressed or angry all the time?!" He retorted, an equally aggressive glare being sent back to her.

She shook her head as she rolled her eyes at him, "He's going to be like that either way, he's leaving his _girlfriend!_" She growled, her sentence turning from a harsh whisper to her audible voice.

"Bec, relax―"

"It's not like I forced them to do it!" Nick replied as he cut Alvin off, still keeping a hushed yet vicious voice. "They decided to do it themse―"

Before Nick could finish his sentence, the front doors swung open as a gush of cold air, along with Sarita and Walter, had entered. The two had their arms draped around themselves as the closed the doors and walked up the steps. Sarita and Walter made their way to the dining area with slightly blued lips and chattering teeth, their clothes were drenched. "The storm hit," Sarita pointed out. "I'm not sure you all should head out so soon."

Carlos lowered his head and sighed. It was too late for the group to head out now with a decent chance of making it through the cold, but Carver could be closer than they'd think. It was a risk to stay any longer. He shook his head politely as he looked back up, "It's fine, really. It's not safe for us to stay here any longer," he insisted as he rose from his seat.

"A few hours won't hurt," Walt responded. A troubling thought about Matthew's safety flew past his mind and worried him, though he had to focus in the task at hand. "At least wait until the storm dies down a bit. We don't want to send you out there without any jackets either."

"Jackets?" Alvin mused, a cheesy grin spreading across his face as he turned around to Rebecca.

Sarita nodded, "We put the clothes from the bedrooms away in the storage closet. You're all welcome to grab one before you leave, there are plenty," she informed.

The group couldn't afford to say no with the weather outside, it was dangerously cold in the mornings and those jackets would work wonders for them all. They'd be able to keep watch longer without getting cold and even have a warmer sleep.

Carlos glanced down at the group as he contemplated the offer, finally able to give his answers. "I guess it won't hurt," he replied. "Thank you."

* * *

Adrian scurried up the stairs with his hand sliding up the rail, making his way to the top as he began to walk through the hallway. The first thing he noticed was Kirsten's boots sitting just near her door, and the light chatter heard from downstairs. The hallway definitely was a quieter spot in the lodge, although they've never had this many people before. People who crossed the bridge that Matthew kept watch over would sometimes stay the night, all with the same story. "We're heading north."

Matthew, another group member who'd actually been gone this entire time. It was a little odd, he was supposed to be back from his trip an hour ago. Adrian hoped he was alright and shrugged it off, thinking nothing of it.

As he approached her door, he softly knocked on it in an attempt not to wake Luke next door. "Kirsten?" He muttered out, earning no response in return. He placed his hand on the door knob and slowly opened it, peeking his head through the gap to find her sheets untouched. He cocked an eyebrow, opening the door fully as he looked around her room. "Kirst?" He called out a little louder this time, taking a step inside.

She wasn't in her room.

He stepped out and closed the door, looking down at her boots. She had to be upstairs somewhere if her shoes were here, and he _did _see her go to her door last night. She wasn't in the bathroom, he knew this from overhearing Carlos say Sarah was in there. She couldn't have moved to another room either, her group had filled up all the rooms down to the last one.

He glanced over to Luke's door suspiciously, stepping towards it. He didn't want to believe it, he couldn't. He was sure that as soon as he'd open this door, that maybe he'd have an awkward encounter with Luke or find him asleep. He was sure that his daughter hadn't stepped foot in this his room for the entirety of the three days she was at the lodge. Adrian grabbed onto the door knob and took a breath, shutting his eyes. His wrist twisted and the door began to open, the man poked his head through the gap to look inside.

He didn't want to believe his daughter had made a stupid mistake, but he had to. He couldn't lie to himself, he couldn't deny what he was seeing.

Kirsten wasn't in her own bed, she was in Luke's.

He was infuriated, mad beyond belief. Adrian didn't even know what to do, he didn't want to cause a scene, he didn't want either of them to get up from the bed, and he certainly didn't want a fight to break out. The group was going to leave anyway, she wasn't going to see Luke again for the rest of her life. She made a mistake, and like Kenny said, she was going to have to deal with the consequences. Adrian had every right to be angry, too. He thought he knew his daughter, it turns out he didn't. But he definitely knew that she wouldn't have done it for the hell of it. Something had to be going on the whole time.

And she hid that from him. Left him oblivious to it all. Of course he was going to be angry. Not only with his daughter, but with Luke too. Luke showed Adrian he was a respectable man at the _least. _But all of that respect was snatched away and ripped into shreds. He even had a one on one conversation with the man and he didn't bother to say a word about their assumed relationship. Half of him wanted to kick Luke's ass, but the other half wouldn't let him. Half of him wanted to yell some sense into Kirsten, but the other half told him "not right now."

He was stuck standing in between the door frame with his thoughts running his mind in an endless cycle. He somehow snapped himself out of it, though he didn't know how to react to it all. Instead, he just slowly closed the door with a cold glare upon his eyes. As he walked down the hallway, he just couldn't understand how Kirsten would lie to him. Or why she'd even be doing this in the first place, it wasn't like her at all. He understood that people changed, but he just wasn't expecting his daughter to be doing any of this. It was beyond absurd to him.

As he walked down the stairs with a bitter look on his face, he noticed a cold Sarita and shivering Walter talking to the group with Kenny no where in sight.

Rebecca noticed the man coming down the stairs without his daughter, though she was confused. She didn't hear any yelling, she didn't hear anything break, it was silent upstairs. She didn't know if he checked Luke's room or if he simply came down to ask where she was. "Is Kirsten coming down?" She hesitantly asked, glancing up at Adrian as everyone else turned towards him.

He turned away for a moment before shaking his head, keeping his eyes low. "I thought I'd let her sleep more," he responded blandly before looking up at Sarita. "Is Kenny still out there?" He asked.

The woman nodded, half confused about his behavior as he walked past her and assumingly outside. Nick, along with his group, were skeptical. His behavior sure was a little off, but the signs weren't clear enough to whether he entered the room or not. The easiest way out of all of this was to head out before anything happened.

* * *

**9:34AM**

Kirsten's arms were freezing, though the rest of her body was warm, sheltered by the bed sheets and wrapped in Luke's arms. Her eyes opened slightly to the day lit room as she let them adjust to the brightness before fully opening them. The first thing she noticed was how messy Luke's hair looked, then she realized how much she didn't want to move and disturb him. She couldn't help but admire the small details in his face, like how his dark eyebrows complimented his eyes. How his lips curved so naturally. The last thing she wanted to do was leave his side, it would have felt like leaving his side forever. And come the time the group leaves, she would be. If she had the choice to just lay there and not walk out of the room for the entire day, she'd take it.

But she didn't, and she had to get downstairs before anyone saw them. She rolled away from Luke and swung her legs around the side of the bed, looking through the window as she observed the gray sky. That storm was definitely coming, she thought it was a shame the group had to go back out there and deal with it while avoiding Carver. If only he wasn't on their tails could they finally be at peace in the lodge.

Kirsten looked over her shoulder as she felt Luke's hand grab onto her wrist lightly and let a smile flash onto her face. "We need to get up," she whispered to him as he buried the side of his face into his pillow.

"Later," he mumbled with a creeping grin.

She huffed, "Later isn't an option," she replied. "Do you want my Dad to see us?" She asked as she slipped her wrist out of his hand and she stood up, turning around to him. Luke smirked into the pillow, causing her to roll her eyes. "Actually, don't answer that."

The young man groaned as he lifted the top half of his body, using his arm as support. He should have been feeling happy to wake up next to Kirsten, but he just couldn't help but let his thoughts get to him. He knew that this was the last day he'd see the girl he loved. It was the last time he would ever wake up with her, or the last time he'd probably ever get to kiss her.

Luke pushed his hair out of his face as he sat up fully, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he yawned. He laid down on his back with his hand behind his head, watching her grab her pants off the ground. As he watched, he realized that the entire time he'd been with her, he was helping the girl she is now. He knew little about what she was like before, thanks to her father, but it wasn't the ordinary things about a person. He was only told how certain events messed up her outlook on life. He didn't even know if she went college, or if she worked, or where she even came from?

And neither did she. She knew little about his old life too, but was there even a point to delve into it? Sure, they'd both know more about each other, but was that worth anything now that they were parting?

"Are you even trying anymore?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, a smile pressed against her lips as she buttoned up her jeans.

Luke snapped out of his thoughts and adverted his eyes up, "Hm?"

She huffed as she turned to him, "With that knack for staring, you'd think you'd be an expert at trying to make it a little less obvious," she remarked with a grin, walking over to the end of the bed and picking up her tank top.

He smirked, "Well, you can't hold it against me," he told her. She really couldn't, it was a habit.

"No, I can't," she replied with an unfamiliar tone in her voice. Luke wondered if she was being sarcastic or if she was genuinely happy. "But I _can _tell you to get up," she said as she put her tank top over her head.

Luke jokingly raised his hands up in defense before sitting up. "I'm up," he tells her before sitting on the edge of the bed and grabbing his jeans. Kirsten rolled her eyes with a grin as she walked over to the door and grabbed their clothes. She threw Luke's t-shirt and sweater on the bed for him as he buckled up his belt, glancing over to him. "Thanks," he mumbled as she began to put her shirt on, though his voice sounded a bit off.

She furrowed her eyebrows as she finished putting it on, holding her t-shirt in her hand. "What's wrong?" She asked with a hint of curiosity, walking over towards the edge of the bed and placing herself down on it. He sighed as he slowly walked over to her, his hands in his pockets. He had so much to say to her, but he wasn't sure how to. She glanced at the bed momentarily, "I'm not going to force you to tell me, but I _am_ curious," she told him as she put her t-shirt over herself.

Luke sat down next to her, running his fingers through his hair before looking at her. She raised an eyebrow at him in expectancy, tilting her head a little as it made him smile. Though soon his smile deteriorated and she began to sorry a bit. "Today's the last day," he told her. "The last day of everything we have. And I know that I told you to stay here if it made you happy, but... I just don't think my mind's caught up with my words," he told her as he looked into her eyes firmly.

She sat silently. It was the first time she was genuinely speechless rather than holding her tongue. She took a moment to think, to gather up any sort of words her mind could get to compile a sentence. "Luke... do you remember back at the cabin when I wanted to leave, and when you figured out why, I told you it was because I thought something bad would happen?" She asked. The young man nodded his head as she cleared her throat. "I hate being brutal with you, I do, but... when you wanted me to stay, and I decided to, we signed up for this from the beginning. This is the bad."

Luke pursed his lips, hanging his head low. "I know," he mumbled. "I just didn't think it'd be this soon. I still can't believe it's this soon."

"I don't want you to leave as much as you do, but I can't go back on this," she told him as he looked up at her sadly. She paused for a moment before smiling at him sorrowfully and locking her hand with his, "If it makes you feel any better, stopping me from killing you back at Carver's made me realize how cute you were."

His sad expression couldn't help but change into grin as she began to laugh. _Man, _was he going to miss her laugh. "You know I've been countin' the days since the beginnin' of all this," he told her, an impressed look spread across her face. "November 9th, 2005."

She raised an eyebrow, "Is that today?"

"No, actually, it's the day you realized I was cute," he told her with a cheeky grin as she couldn't help but purse her lips through a smile. As she glanced back up at him, Luke could feel himself inching closer to her. She squeezed his hand tightly as she began to slightly pull him closer... until the door busted wide open, causing the both of them to jump.

Nick forced himself inside, his eyes were covered and he somehow managed to shut the door both blindly and frantically, "Are you guys awake, and― uh, dressed?" He asked as the pair pulled away from each other and looked towards him.

Kirsten rolled her eyes at him, although he couldn't see. "I am," she told him. "But don't get a hard on, Luke's shirtless," she said unenthusiastically as she sat up from the bed and walked over to the dresser, leaving Luke to give her a deadpan stare. "How'd you even know I was in here too?" She asked with an intense amount of curiosity.

Nick glanced off to the side with a creeping grin, scratching the back of his head as he nervously laughed. "I― I _might _have pitched the idea to Luke, that maybe..." Nick let himself trail off. Luke rolled his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose, letting out an irritated sigh.

As she rummaged through the drawers for a hair brush, she began to chuckle. "Well, he wasn't the one to suggest it―"

"Anyway," Luke cut her off before folding his arms, leaving Nick with a look of surprise. "What are you lookin' for?" He asked the young woman before taking a quick glance at Nick.

She closed one drawer and opened another, "Trying to find a hair brush. Is there one in here?" She asked flatly, shutting the drawer and turning to him.

"I thought I saw one in the drawer under the wardrobe," he informed, turning back to Nick. Kirsten walked over to the wardrobe and got down on her knees, pulling the drawer open. "So why'd you bust in?" He asked skeptically.

Before Nick could even speak a word, Kirsten turned to Luke. "Can't find it," she told him, moving objects around. She glanced back at the drawer as Luke made his way to her, bending down and rummaging through the drawer with her.

"So... no one came in here?" Nick slowly eased out, placing his hands in his pockets as he began to pace around.

Kirsten and Luke exchanged a few looks to each other before turning to Nick, "Not that we know of." The young man nodded his head quite surprisingly. Sure if Adrian really did enter the room, the couple would have known, right?

Luke continued to look through the drawer as he spoke, to be real, he was slightly nervous where Nick was going with this. "Why?" He questioned, occasionally taking a glance at his best friend.

Nick shrugged, "Just askin'." Quite frankly, he didn't want to scare either of them. It was their last day together and it seemed like it was going to be swept under the rug. No fights broke out, no yelling, nothing must have happened. Adrian's behavior was questionable when he came down stairs, sure, but that could have been _anything _to Nick's knowledge.

Kirsten raised an eyebrow at Nick before Luke suddenly stopped searching through the drawer. She turned to him and watched him pull an object out, assuming it was the hair brush they'd both been looking for. But no, Kirsten's eyes widened as she realized what Luke was holding, and there was no doubt that Nick saw it too. Luke turned to her with a look of shock before she immediately snatched it out of his hands and stood up, slowly backing away from him as she held it to her chest.

Luke's eyes followed her as he slowly stood up, "Kirsten..." he warned as he began to approach her. "Give me the photo frame."


	23. All Out Fallout

"Give it to me!"

Luke didn't know how he managed to snatch the photo frame out of her hands, it happened too quick for him to realize what he even did. But somehow, he found himself staring at the picture inside the frame in terror, using his free arm to block his girlfriend from trying to grab it back.

Nick, on the other hand, was in his own thought bubble, wondering why luck didn't seem to be on his side all while sitting on the end of the bed. Of all things that had to come back and bite Nick in the ass, it had to be this. Walter had been nothing but a nice man to him _and _his group, and now the guy that Walter knew was dead. His blood was on Nick's hands.

"Stop it! Stop!" Luke replied, his voice thick with struggle as he continued eyeing the photo with the belief of unrealism. Kirsten reluctantly obliged, shrugging herself off of the arm that held her away, and felt a wave of guilt wash over her. _Why couldn't I have hid it somewhere better? Somewhere less stupid? _She raised a hand to her eyes as she let out a sigh, prompting Luke to face her frontwards. "You knew about this?" He asked with a stern voice, lowering the photo frame as his eyes narrowed at her.

Kirsten didn't exactly understand why he was coming off in a negative way towards her. Sure, she hid this from him, but it wasn't like she did it to purposely anger him. It was for the better of everyone. Her eyebrows pulled together as she folded her arms, glancing away from him. He pressed on and asked her again, to which she nodded her head unwillingly.

"For how long?" Luke continued, folding his arms as he looked down at her.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked up at him, releasing her arms and letting them fall to her sides. "From the start," she replied. Soon, her eyes softened as he let out an uneasy breath. "I just didn't want to stress anyone out. It stressed me out enough knowing that I had to hide this from everyone, we were all on edge about Carver and I wasn't thinking straight because of you and my Dad, it was better for everyone to have it out of the way."

Luke sighed, raising his hand to his eyes as he shook his head. He paused for a moment, letting her curiosity about his thoughts eat away at her. "Well then, what are we gonna do about this?" He spoke unenthusiastically, looking over to Nick.

His best friend sat up from the bed and took the frame in his hand, his eyes apologetically studying the photo. "God..." Nick muttered, handing it back to him as Luke placed a hand on his shoulder. "I have to tell him."

"Wh― Are you fuckin' nuts?!" Luke responded in shock, his eyes widening at his best friend. "You're gonna get yourself killed!"

Kirsten narrowed her eyes at him as she folded her arms. The fact that Luke would even disagree had her second guessing him. "We can't just hide this from Walter forever. Matthew was supposed to be coming back today," she told them. "It's the right thing to do."

"It's right to get Nick killed? Because that's what's gonna happen," Luke responded defensively, looking over to the man next to him.

"Then I'll take the fallout," she insisted. Her voice began to soften from its usual firmness and she glanced away. "That way Nick, and everyone else, leave the lodge without a scratch." Luke noticed the discomfort in her voice along side the discomfort in his mind.

"The hell you are," Luke disagreed, his arms folding over his chest. If it meant putting herself in jeopardy, then he didn't even want the plan to be spoken of. It didn't matter that Luke wouldn't know the outcome of the situation, the constant questioning in his mind of whether she'd be alive or not would have driven him insane.

Luke couldn't even process the fact that as soon as his group left, they were no longer together and he wouldn't be able to watch out for her. They weren't going to see each other ever again. And it tore him to bits, of course. He loved her. He'd do everything in his power to make her come with him, but her father had a greater hold on her than he ever could. Not only was her father blood, but he was a reminder of her mother. And by the sound of how Adrian spoke about the two, she cherished her mother and the memories of her more than anything.

Nick immediately shook his head, declining her plan. "No, just― God... no one's taking the blame for this but me," he demanded. "I did this, not you!"

"I can tell him when you guys leave," she replied. "It's safer for the group this way." Her eyes narrowed at the ground as her voice hardened, but kept rather low. "I've already signed my death warrant by staying here, it's his decision if he wants to take it out on someone or not."

If Luke was honest, that last comment disturbed him greatly. "Don't say that," he said with a frown, earning a somber look from the woman.

"Just telling the truth."

Nick was truly grateful for her offering. He knew it would get him out of hot water, but it didn't feel right for her to take the blame. Though in his mind, he needed to get the thought out of his head. With Kirsten deciding not to join them, it meant that the rest of his group needed to stay together and unharmed. Kirsten's shown to be capable of taking care of herself, and he didn't doubt that capability. "What about the knife Clem picked up at the shack?" He asked with a dull tone of voice. "He's gonna know it's Matthew's as soon as he sees it."

Luke sighed, grasping his chin for a moment as he thought. He didn't know the outcome of her plan or what consequences it held. He would never know. And he hated the fact that he wouldn't be there to find out. Putting herself at risk only worried Luke, but he knew her father was here. He could only hope that Adrian would be around to help her if something were to happen. "Shit, okay... uh, we'll get rid of it. I'll talk to her."

Kirsten nodded her head, "Okay, but for now, we need to get downstairs."

* * *

**12:34PM **

Twiddling her thumbs, she stood by the double doors. She watched the rain outside pelt the ground as her Dad leaned against the barrier, his breath escaping his mouth and entering the cold air in the form of fog.

This was the hard part.

If Kirsten could just have a normal conversation without letting anything slip, whether it was about Luke or Matthew, then it'd be a breeze from then on. She hadn't thought of what she'd do if she actually did end up letting the word out, her faith in herself wasn't at an all time high right now. All she could do was try her best and hope that nothing bad happened.

After all, Walter wanted Kirsten and Adrian to go down to the shack and see if Matthew was back, and she preferred it wasn't an entirely painful trip.

Kirsten pushed herself through the doors, expectant of her father to turn back, but to no avail. _Weird. _The doors closed behind her as she walked up to him and leaned herself onto the barrier, but still was he unnerved. She cleared her throat as she glanced at him, "Where were you at lunch?" She casually asked.

It wasn't until she spoke that Adrian turned his head to her. She didn't expect the cold look he gave her, damning him for those nerve-racking eyes. Well, it _was _where she got hers from. "Wasn't hungry," he replied, an unfamiliar tone in his voice. As much as Kirsten hoped for the best in this situation, she certainly wasn't getting it. She looked at him skeptically, though before she could question his answer, he opened his mouth again. "How'd you sleep?" He asked, more curious than usual.

Kirsten shrugged her shoulders as a nervous feeling trickled down to the pit of her stomach. "Good, I guess," she answered, slightly nodding her head.

"It was cold last night," he said.

"Sure was."

"Thank goodness you were in your bed, huh?" The woman froze, her eyes widening as she began to stammer. He noticed and turned his head to her, "You _were_ in your bed, right? Your _own_ bed?"

She couldn't believe it. Her eyes looked to him widely, his glare unsettling. "Dad..." she mumbled, her voice low and cautious.

Adrian's glare turned into something she hadn't seen from him before, it was a hell of a lot more frightening than his previous one. And she had no way to get out of it. "How could you be so stupid?" He asked, pushing himself off the barrier as her eyes followed him. "How the _hell _did you think I wasn't gonna find out about this?!"

_Don't play dumb, you know he hates that._

Her mouth opened, letting her words slowly fall out. "About what―?"

"About you and that kid!"

_So much for not playing dumb._

She raised an eyebrow at him in both curiosity and fear, "How did you―"

"I saw you in his _goddamn_―" Adrian cut himself off, balling his fists as he let out an irritated breath. The words were like venom as they rolled off his tongue. "His bed― I saw you in his damn bed."

No, he couldn't have. She would have known, or she would have saw. She would have heard something at the least! Surely he would have thrown a fit, or thrown Luke out the window, or _something!_

Her silence only made Adrian more disappointed in her, the only thing she could give him was an exhale of confusion.

"I know you two are together," he told her, much to her guilty expression. "When did this happen?"

The only thing Kirsten knew she could do was tell him what he wanted to know. There was no point in side-tracking him, or acting coy, or playing dumb. He wanted to know the truth, and she needed to give it to him.

"A little after I met him," she confessed, keeping her eyes on the ground.

He let out a scoff as he folded his arms, "Shit like that is going to get you _killed_, Kirsten, what's wrong with you?!"

Again, she stood silently. She had an answer, of course she did. All she wanted to do was prove how much she loved the man who loved her first. She wasn't going to apologize for that. And if that was what's wrong with her, then she'd kill not to be right.

"Stupid," he muttered, putting his hands on his hips as he began to pace. "I didn't raise you to be stupid, Kirsten. You know that people don't care anymore. They'll use you and throw you to the curb like you were _nothing,_" he paused. "I don't wanna see you get hurt, not now, not ever. And especially when we've got walkers to deal with. Letting Luke use you is the last thing you need right now."

"I'm sorry, what?" She hissed, her eyes glaring up at her father. She didn't want to cower, and didn't want to stay silent. No, she was _done _with keeping her mouth shut, it made her head ache with rage along with her father. "What the _hell _do you think you're doing trying to turn me against him?! You _praised _him two nights ago! And now you want to tell me he just wants to use me?!" She growled, stopping him from pacing.

"Kirsten―"

"No, Dad, you're right! You're totally right. You didn't raise me to be stupid, or else I would've bought into your bullshit the moment it came out of your mouth. So really, thank you. You should feel good about yourself, Dad," she spat sarcastically before letting out a scoff. "Great parenting."

His fists tightened as he let out an irritated breath, ignoring her teeth-clenching words as he folded his arms. "You think I'm saying this shit for the hell of it? That little stunt you and Luke pulled was no where near smart! You don't risk shit like that nowadays, you've gotta focus on staying _alive! _I mean, what the hell do you think is going to happen if you got pregnant?!"

She grimaced at him, her eyebrows pulling together. "You don't just get to decide what I do with myself, okay?! I _know _how to protect myself! But now, I'm pushing aside _all_ of that just so I don't lose you again! I'm abandoning everyone I've grown to care about, and probably getting myself killed just for you, Dad! What more do you expect?!"

Adrian let his arms fall to his sides, his fists still balled, though not as tightly. The sound of plead in her voice didn't stop him from being angry, but it did pull him back a bit. "The last thing I want is for you to screw up. Not after all you've survived through. You're all I have left, Kirsten. I expect you to make the right decision."

Her eyes settled low, his words felt piercing to her ears. "Yeah, well, you won't. Luke's leaving and so is everyone else." Adrian stood still as his daughter began to walk back to the doors, pushing past him with a hurt look casted upon her eyes. "You've got what you wanted."

* * *

"What about this one?"

Luke tapped the heel of his foot against the ground as he sat on the one-seater, staring at the entrance of the lodge from afar with his hand under his chin.

"Is blue really your color, Beccy?"

He saw Kirsten go down the steps and disappear out of sight a couple minutes ago, leaving Luke to silently worry about whether or not she was going to reappear.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

_Of course she is. You're the one leaving her, remember? _Right.

"Dad, what about this grey one?"

He had a nagging thought about what he'd do if he didn't say goodbye to her. Or hug her. Or kiss her. Or to simply just lay eyes on her again.

"It's too big, honey. Try the other one."

She told him she was just going to talk to her Dad. It wasn't like she was going to disappear for good, she was obviously going to make her way up the stairs and come back to him.

"This one looks warm."

So why did Luke feel so worried? What made him so hellbent on thinking she wasn't going to come back inside, but at the same time, she was?

"There's a removable hood on the green one."

Was it the realization of how hurt Luke really felt?

"Luke, have you got one yet?"

He told her that if she had to stay, he'd accept that. But was that an 'in the moment' type of comment because he didn't want her to go crazy thinking of what to do?

"Luke?"

Was it because he knew she'd be safer here than out in the cold?

"Are you there, Luke?"

He didn't know what it was, but he definitely knew that he regretted saying it. He wanted her to go with him, he wanted to keep her by his side at all times.

"Luke!"

The man looked up, his foot immediately stopped tapping. He could've sworn the group was silent just a moment ago. "Sorry," he mumbled. "What's up?"

Nick quirked an eyebrow at his best friend's sudden day dreaming. He had plenty of thoughts about what it could've been about, but Nick never saw Luke so disoriented before. "Did you get a jacket yet?" He simply asked, placing the jacket he chose over his shoulder as the group continued to search.

Luke glanced around at his group members, jackets scattered across the sofa, the coffee table, and the ground. He then glanced up at Sarita as she watched with a heartfelt smile. "Not yet," he replied, turning back to Nick. "I'll get one later."

His best friend looked at him with confusion. He noticed Luke's disorientation from a mile away, having been friends for almost twenty years, Luke was like an open book to Nick. And surely, Nick knew what made him act so out of it. "There might not be a 'later', man. Carlos was talkin' about leaving as soon as the storm died down. Better to get one now than none at all," he insisted.

Luke didn't respond, instead, he rose from the chair. Nick looked over to what Luke began to walk towards, weaving through his group members and the piles of jackets, he was walking towards Kirsten as she made her way up the steps. Nick began to grimace, irritated at Luke's lack of reply.

As Luke continued to walk up to her, he noticed something he was all too familiar with. She was angry. At what, he didn't know. But whenever he saw that irate look on her face, he grew cautious of what he'd say or do. The last thing he wanted was for her to turn her anger towards him.

Once the pair had gotten in arms reach of each other, Kirsten took no time to latch onto his arm and pull him with her. "Come," she simply uttered with an unnerved voice.

Luke let her pull him over to one of the pillars near the food bar where he wondered what she was going to say. Did she change her mind? As brutal as it sounded, he hoped she did. Luke halted as they both stood behind the pillar, her hand breaking away from his. "You didn't tell him about..." Luke peeked around the corner of the pillar, weary of who was in sight. "...About Matthew, did you?"

"No," she replied. The woman folded her arms, letting out an irritated sigh. She couldn't believe that she got herself into such a mess, she was fuming because of it. She paused for a moment, "He figured it out."

Luke's eyes widened, "That Matthew's dead?"

"No!" She harshly responded, "About us! We..." she sighed, her eyes settling low. "It's my fault," she mumbled.

He stood silently, he couldn't even construct a sentence fit enough to describe whatever was going on inside his head. He couldn't tell if it was fear, caution, or a wild case of confusion. "B- But... How did he―?"

"I don't know when, or _how_, but he― uh... he saw us in your room," she softly responded. "He just... I can't believe it. He didn't blow a fuse at all until just before. And it― ...I just―"

Luke placed his hands on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes as her attention adverted to him. He let out a shaky breath before he spoke, "This isn't anyone's fault, okay? Look, I know your Dad is here and you don't wanna leave 'im, but... you can still come with us if you want to, you know that, alright?" He offered, her face turning from sorrow to confusion.

Kirsten raised an eyebrow, pausing for a moment. "What is it with you?" She curiously asked. "One moment you're telling me to do what I have to, and the next you change your mind." His hands slowly fell from her shoulders, making her feel a bit worried. "I mean, I get it. I know why you want me to come with you, but you know I can't go back on this."

Luke nodded, clearing his throat. "No, you're right. I'm sorry, didn't mean to push you or nothin'," he softly apologized, his eyes set on the ground.

She let out a small sigh, running her hand down her face as she shook her head. "It's alright."

He couldn't tell if it was instinct or that he was making a dumb move, but the first thought that came to mind was to wrap his arms around her and embrace her. He didn't want to admit it, but the entire situation had him scared of what was to come for the both of them. He couldn't even dare to look Adrian in the eye, or even Walter now that he knew Matthew's fate. As soon as Matthew sprung into mind, he remembered what their plan was and how much danger it could put Kirsten in.

He let out a small breath before he gently pulled her away from himself, looking at her distressed face once again. "You sure you still wanna take the heat for Nick?" He asked her.

"I might as well do it. It's not like staying here is going to add years to my life, anyway," she responded, her voice heavy with stress. Her reply broke Luke a little, it was one of the reasons why he wanted her to come with him. He didn't want her to die, whether he was there for it or not. He managed to block out the inevitability part of death, he wanted to focus on what was happening instead of what would happen. "Shit," she cursed, "I just remembered. Walter asked me and my Dad to go down to the shack we stopped at to see if Matthew's there."

Luke forced a smile as he folded his arms. "Want me to go with him instead?" He sarcastically asked her, earning a deadpan stare from the woman.

"Didn't know you were _that _suicidal, Luke," she responded.

He paused for a moment, "Well, I'm not. I've got you, haven't I?" She gave him a smile as she nodded, reality hadn't seemed to dawn on her just yet.

"Good."

* * *

**A/N: Woah, okay, I really didn't expect to take this long to update. Writer's block actually sucks so much. Thing is, I've got everything for this story planned out. I just keeping getting mental blocks from progressing, and I kind of feel like I've lost my touch when it comes to writing. **

**But hey! Honorable mentions! I didn't forget this time. :)**

**XxClemClemxX: **That last part was sweet...and sad at the same time! I love how you do Luke's Character in this. He seems needy for Kristen, despite her needing to stay with her father, which is a trait I imagine from him, with giving her the puppy eyes and all! Good Job!

**XxClemClemxX: **What a lovely way to end the chapter. This overall chapter was sweet, with Luke and Adrian and such. Something better not happen to Adrian!(pwease). Great job as usual, and I will be looking foward to the next chapter!

**Thanks for the reviews! I really try my hardest to make sure characters aren't OOC or do things that doesn't seemed like they'd do if it's not explored in the original game. And worry not, it seems like Adrian's going to be around for quite a bit. **

**Lost In The Tides Of Fangirl: **Ahhhh ;3; I cannot handle this anymore. My heart drowned itself in feels. D:

**omg no lawsuit pls**

**No but seriously, I'm glad you actually felt something other than cringe while reading my story. Thanks for the review!**

**AquaDestinysEmbrace: **This was a nice update. It's great you'll be able to update more.

And YES! So hyped for the Walking Dead:Michonne!

**"I'm glad you'll be able to update more" hahahAhahAHHAHAHAHAH **

**No seriously, I'm going to start the next chapter as soon as this one is posted, and it's going to be quite a long one because of you know who. I'm just so glad I don't have to write for the lodge now, I think that was the thing giving me writers block the most. **

**Also, Michonne hype! Thanks for the review!**

**Reystro: **I've finally been able to read the last couple of chapters, and holy crap so much has happened! I loved this last chapter, it was so sweet. I can't wait to see what happens and how Kirsten's father reacts with Carver.

**Thanks for the review ol' buddy, ol' pal, ol' friend. Sorry, won't be doing that again. But I'm glad you liked the chapters! And you won't have to wait long (depending on how long it actually takes me to write the next chapter, which will be quite long) because the next chapter, you'll definitely find out. **

**So, I hope you guys are excited for the next chapter, it's going to be quite long since it'll be the end of Episode 2, and we'll jump right into Episode 3!**

**Thanks for reading, and go ahead and leave a review!**


	24. Sidewinder

**A/N: Okay, so, I'm going to admit, I didn't start this chapter straight after posting the last. TV shows got the best of me for about a day, so I'm currently starting this at midnight. (small update at 3:00AM, just got 1.6k words done lmao) And considering how hectic this chapter is going to be, and how surprisingly creative I get late at night, I hope this chapter treats you well. Well, actually, I don't. I kind of want it to tear you to pieces since, y'know, that's my job right now. **

**God, I'm feeling cynical. **

**Also, small surprise for OC acceptees! At least I'm not _that _cynical.**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter! Or not, I don't need to tell you how to run your life. **

**:)**

* * *

**6:16PM**

Kirsten tried to distance herself from her still angered father as the two walked towards the shack. She had managed to grab one of the jackets from the pile, a military parka. Someone from the troops must have visited before the outbreak. The storm had died down slightly, which her father took action upon to get out and go find Matthew. She contemplated whether or not she should tell her father, and get this over and done with. Considering how their last conversation went, hiding something from him didn't seem to serve the best consequences.

How a simple conversation went so wrong, so quick, she wasn't sure. It wasn't supposed to go like it did, he was never supposed to find out and she could have had that small piece of happiness to think about when Luke was gone. But instead, she'd be thinking about how much she disappointed Adrian. She needed to trust the thought that her father wouldn't let anything happen to Nick or the group if she told him. It would only be until they left, which they had to reschedule until first thing in the morning.

Kirsten got to the shack first, peering over her shoulder as her father wasn't far behind her. She put her pistol in the back of her pants and grabbed onto the door handle, twisting it with the expectation of a locked door. She felt a twist in her stomach when the door pulled open, her eyebrows furrowed together. _He didn't even get to lock the door, he thought he was coming back, _she thought.

Once her father had caught up with her, she was already inside the shack. She pulled her hood off and looked around at the empty place, it didn't look the same than it had when the group came by it before they reached the lodge. The empty cans were strewn across the ground in a more scattered manner. She could've sworn that in the hurry to get out of the shack, they'd left the chest lid open, but it was closed.

Adrian walked over to the hovering bench above the bedding, placing his shot gun on the bed before yanking a box off the bench. He looked inside it where he saw nothing but a few teared up pieces of newspaper and a battery. He took the battery out of the box and put it in his pocket, the object making a small colliding noise with the handcuff keys in there. He noticed a few more boxes under the bed with their lids open, they looked half full. He got down on his knees and placed the empty box in his hand down on the ground before pulling out the other boxes under the bed.

They were full of things Adrian knew were sentimental to Matthew. Photos of he and Walter on vacations together, a passport, wood carvings. He figured it would be safer up at the lodge where no looters could get hold of it and pulled the boxes out from under the bed. He stacked them on top of each other before he turned to his daughter, watching her stare out the window before she turned around to him. His eyes shifted to the box next her, and he broke the silence.

"Get me that box."

Kirsten pushed her fringe behind her ears and looked to the right of her. "That one?" She asked, pointing her finger towards a half full _Save-Lots _box. Her father stayed silent, lifting a couple of the boxes he stacked with a grunt. He glanced over at his daughter almost disappointingly before looking down at the box she pointed at and sighing. The young woman stood awkwardly, staring at her father as he readjusted the boxes in his hands. "You can't stay mad at me forever," she told him, folding her arms.

"You're right, I can't," he replied, looking his daughter in the eye. "But who's to say I can't try?"

Her stare turned into a glare almost immediately, she knew how this would go. They were going to argue again, then stay silent with each other for another six hours, and then probably argue some more. It was funny to her that even though they were living in the apocalypse, they somehow found themselves arguing like they used to.

"Why are you like this? What do you have against him that makes you so pissed off?" She asked, her voice firming with every word.

Adrian scoffed, "You mean, other than the fact that he had sex my daughter behind my back?"

Kirsten let out an audible, angry breath. "Yeah, actually. Other than the fact that he fucked your daughter."

The man turned away with a glare, not letting himself cast it upon her. "Just get me that box," he demanded in a low, quiet voice.

"Sorry, what was that?" She asked him, much to his irritation. "Speak up, Dad. You're a little hush."

"I said get me that damn box!" He growled, "I'm not playing around!"

"Exactly!" She exclaimed, making her way towards him. "You haven't got a damn thing against him! You're only pissed because I did something that seems so _stupid _to you and didn't tell you about it! And the sweet, _sweet _icing on the cake is you trying to force some bullshit reason onto me that all he wants to do is use me! God fucking forbid I love someone, right?!"

Adrian dropped the boxes onto the bed carelessly before turning back to her with a cold glare. "Do you not expect me to be angry over this?!" He asked her, his voice both in distress and anger.

"_Expect?!_ All I expect from you is to trust me!" She let out, the outrage in her voice began to slowly fade as her eyes settled to the ground. "Look, I know that it's not going to matter once he's gone, but just know that he's one of the most caring people I've met in my life. Not only for me, but for our group too," she proclaimed. The young woman let out a short breath, "Luke's one of the best things that's ever happened to me... Without him, I would have gone over the edge before you could even get to me."

Adrian focused his eyes on his daughter, the softness in her voice told him how much she cared and was grateful for Luke. "Does he make you happy?" He asked her, his eyes settling on the ground.

"More than I ever thought he could," she replied. "It didn't hit me as much as I thought until now, that I won't see him again for the rest of my life." The expression on Kirsten's face was drained of everything positive, nothing but a heart-aching feeling remained in her body. "But I made a choice, and nothing will make me go back on that."

The older man hung his head down, the last thing he wanted was to be disappointed in Kirsten for finding happiness, despite the risks she took for it. The only thing he felt he could do was hug his daughter, and make sure that she knew how proud he was to have a child as passionate as her.

Adrian stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her frame, letting her head rest into his chest. "I'm sorry, Kirsten. I shouldn't have done this to you, not after all the people you pushed away. You are the _last_ thing I've got left in this world, I just want you to be careful with what you decide to do. At least, if I can't help it."

The young woman smiled as she pressed into the hug more, grateful that she resolved things with her father. She was glad he could see it all in her perspective. After watching his daughter push people away for years, even to the point where she pushed away her own sister, punishing her for learning to let people in was no where near right.

As Adrian pulled away from her, she let him push her fringe out of her eyes as all she could do was smile back at the man. "Now, can you get me that box?" He asked her with a grin, "We need to take it back to the lodge before this place gets looted."

Kirsten peered over her shoulder before walking over to the box and grabbing it, "Are we going to go looking for him out there in the rain?" She asked him, forcing a casual tone before handing him the box.

He took the box from her grasp and placed it on the ground before bending down. "I think it's only right that we―" He halted his words as soon as he realized what he was staring at. Adrian expected other sentimental items, but all he saw were supplies. Something Matthew obviously would have brought with him on his trip. Adrian wondered if Matthew had even came back to the shack and prepared for the trip at all, which prompted him to turn to his left to a coat hook. Up on the hook, sat Matthew's backpack.

Adrian stood up, his eyes still settled on the box. "This doesn't seem right," he projected, slowly walking away from it.

Kirsten took a breath, putting her hands in her jacket pockets. _Shit, _she thought, _it's now or never._ "It's because it's not," she responded. "I know I hid the thing about Luke before, but not telling you what I'm about to tell you is... a little worse." Adrian turned to her, giving her a skeptical eye. "Matthew's dead," she uneasily said, her eyes traveling to the ground. "When we were crossing the bridge, Nick thought he was one of Carver's men. He thought he was going to shoot us. So, Nick... Nick shot him."

Adrian stared at her bewilderingly, "He... shot him? He shot Matthew?" He asked, to which she responded with a slight nod of her head. "And you didn't tell Walter about it?" He asked her, his voice surprisingly low and calm.

"I didn't know how Walter, or even you, would react," she confessed. "I was going to tell Walter when the group left and take the fall for Nick. All I want for them is to get out of here safely. It's the least I could do before I leave them." Adrian stood silently, she couldn't tell if he was shocked or trying to come up with a plan for what to do. "Should we get back to the lodge?" She asked him.

"No, what we do is― W- Wait, where are you going?" Before Adrian could even finish his sentence, the woman bolted out of the shack. He immediately grabbed his shot gun off the bed and followed her pursuit.

"Can you hear that?" She asked him, raising her voice through the thick bustle of the wind and rain. Gunshots bursted almost faintly compared to the harsh winds and pelting rain, and all she could think of was the worst.

"Shit," Adrian muttered before beginning to take chase after Kirsten as she ran up the hill. "Something's gone wrong!"

"Clearly!" She shouted back as she briefly peered over her shoulder. "I... I think it's Carver!" She proclaimed, pulling out her knife from her holster.

Adrian cocked an eyebrow, "Already?!" He asked, watching his daughter suddenly halt at the oncoming dead in front of her.

Two gnarled figures stumbled towards Kirsten as she began to step back, taking a stance as she gripped her knife. She grabbed one of its swaying hands and pushed it across its chest, gritting her teeth as she dug her knife into its skull. Before she was able to pull her weapon out, the second undead corpse came lunging at her. She used her leg to kick away the walker just in time for Adrian to catch up to her. She yanked out her knife and let the undead fall down the short hill as she pushed it away from her.

As she looked up, she watched her father take one final blow to the walker's head with the handle of his shot gun. His navy blue wind breaker stained a new crimson red.

The pair glanced at each other for a moment as Adrian panted, both of them bolting up the hill as gun shots continued to burst.

* * *

Clementine's eyes widened as she stared out the window, noticing unfamiliar faces whip out their guns and take out the dozens of walkers that surrounded her group members. She let out a gasp as she realized the man leading the heavily armed group was none other than William Carver. Her eyes adverted to Rebecca and she watched as the stunned woman stared in horror.

"Carver..." Rebecca mumbled as she watched the man move his lips. She hated that she couldn't hear anything they were saying, but before she knew it, Carver wiped his face and took a swift punch to Carlos's face. The man recoiled as his face began to bruise, clutching it as he groaned. Sarah gasped, her eyes widening as she jumped to he feet and scrammed out the door. "Sarah!" Rebecca called out to her, but the teenager was too fast. She ran without hesitation into the arms of her father who held onto her protectively, glaring at Carver with a stern eye.

The oddly calm man glanced over at the ski lodge, observing it before raising a finger to it. "Inside," he instructed, looking back over to Carlos. Carver's guards approached the group members, keeping them compact as they enforced the man's ruling.

Walter's gazed lost focus on Nick and switched to the red head wielding an AK-47, the man felt a shock wave through his body as his eyes met her familiar pair. "It's you..." he pointed out, his arms beginning to retract as he glanced at the barrel of he gun.

Bonnie looked over at the blonde next to her before looking up at Walter again, her expression shifting from guilt to blank. "Keep movin'," she demanded, nudging her gun towards the man.

As the guards and group members began to leak into the lodge, Clementine scrambled to take cover from their sight. She pushed herself over to the side of the sofa and leaned her back against it, taking in a shallow breath.

"Look at this place," Bonnie exclaimed, her eyes gazing around the lodge as astray members walked past her.

Alvin caught Clementine's eyes as he knelt down on the staircase, his eyes weaving through the Christmas tree as he tried to pin point one of Carver's guards. The young girl turned around and peered over the sofa before sending herself straight down. Alvin gave her a worried look before she tried again, this time waiting for the guard to turn around.

"You believe this fuckin' place, Nattie?" The guard exclaimed, "Power and everything."

Natalie sent a stern look his way as she roughly bounded Nick's wrists together with a length of rope. "I told you not to call me that," she told him, forcing Nick down on his knees by his shoulder. Nick, if he wasn't being held at gunpoint, could have easily over-powered her. He wanted to. He wanted to somehow get the group out of all of this, but getting himself killed wouldn't do anything productive.

The guard turned around to Natalie, which prompted Clementine to quickly scatter up the stairs with Alvin behind her. Before the guard could say anything witty back, Bonnie had stopped him. "Johnny, cover that window," she instructed with a point of her finger. The man shrugged it off and followed his order as his fellow guards finished up restraining the group.

Carver let the double doors shut behind him as he began walking into the middle of the lodge, noticing that Rebecca was no where in sight. He let out a grunt and looked at the bounded group members, a handful of them were missing. Rebecca, Alvin, Luke, Kirsten, and the little girl from the cabin. Not to mention any new members they managed to pick up.

Before Carlos knew it, Carver was darting towards him. He latched onto the man's arm and yanked him to his feet as he pulled him into the center of the lodge. He sent a swift punch into Carlos's stomach, letting him double over onto his knees as he coughed and gasped for air.

"Listen, I'm only going to ask you once," Carver began. "Where's Rebecca?"

Carlos's eyes adverted to Sarah's, who worriedly stared down at the ground as her breathing became uneven. "Sarah, look at me..." Carlos told her, a strain in his voice. "It's going to be okay, it's―" Before the man could finish assuring his daughter, Carver rolled his eyes and grabbed Carlos's hand, pulling his finger back enough to the point of breaking. "Agghh!" Carlos screeched in pain, a startled Sarah calling out for him.

"Rebecca?!" Carver called out throughout the lodge, dropping Carlos's hand from his grasp. "Rebecca, our baby deserves to be raised in a place of safety!" He continued. Alvin began to ball his fist, he didn't want to believe what Carver just said. He'd been denying it for the last nine months. "I know you're out there. And Alvin, Luke, Kirsten, and the girl." The man began to grin, "This is real simple. You want this over quick? You all play nice, and show your faces."

"Don't hurt my Dad! Please!" Sarah choked out through tears, looking up at the man with glossed over eyes.

"He'll kill him," Alvin whispered to Rebecca.

"No, Alvin," she replied.

The man shook his head, "We gotta go down there."

"I can't do that," she told him with plead in her voice.

"Bec― The baby! You _need_ a doctor!"

Rebecca pursed her lips, taking a peek over the railing and looking down at her group members. Four of them were missing, two of them probably didn't even know all of this was happening. So she needed to put her trust in the people that did.

"No, where's Luke and Kenny?"

* * *

As the gunfire halted merely seconds after the pair took chase to their group, they stared at the aftermath of it. The undead, now actually dead. Their corpses strewn across the ground around the lodge. They noticed the power had gone out as they crept along the sidelines of the lodge, no longer did they hear the sound of constant blade whirling from the wind turbine.

"They're not all in there," Kirsten pointed out. "They could still be around here― we've got to go find them."

Adrian simply nodded his head as they continued to creep around the outside, it wasn't long until they managed to get a better view of the inside. Rebecca, Alvin, and Clementine looked as if they gave up and handed themselves over.

"Shit," Adrian muttered. "We gotta find Kenny, I don't think he's hiding in there like they were," he insisted, the wood of the deck creaking underneath him as he shifted to another window. "I can't see Luke either."

Kirsten felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She knew he and Carver had bad blood, Carver wouldn't of been hesitant to take him out first if he got the chance, which made it much more relieving that he wasn't in there. "Good. Where do you think they are?" She asked, looking over to him.

"I'd say―"

_**BANG!**_

A gun shot not too far from where they stood sounded off, followed by shattering glass that stopped the man in his words. The two of them crept over to the corner of the lodge as fast as they could, trying their best to see through the rain and darkness. Kirsten looked over at the giant window, now broken with rain pelting inside the lodge.

"Holy shit," Kirsten muttered.

"Over there!" Adrian said, his finger pointing towards a viewing station where a silhouette stayed hunched over a rifle. The two of them ducked under the window and began to make their way towards the station.

"Adrian!" A familiar voice called out to them as they approached closer and closer, noticing that it was Kenny.

Kirsten expected Luke to appear behind him, but the station was empty besides Kenny's presence. She felt pressure in her chest as she began to worry. "Luke's not with you? Where is he?" She asked, her father and herself joining Kenny in the station.

"Hell, I don't know," he responded through gritted teeth, taking aim with his rifle. "He was whinin' about somethin' or other, so I told him to take a hike."

The woman's eyes immediately narrowed at the man, "You what―?!"

"Kirsten―"

"I- I need to go find him," she said as she turned around and began to walk off the station. "I'll be back―"

Adrian latched onto her arm and swung her back around, "You can't do that," he told her. "You're going to get caught o-or we might lose you. You don't even have enough ammo."

The young woman shook her head, she couldn't let herself be stopped. She needed to find him, he could have been working on a way to get the group out of the lodge or out of Carver's hands. "He could be hurt for all I know. I'll come back with him as soon as I can, I'll be faster than a bullet. I pro―"

_**BANG!**_

All three of the survivors instantly snapped their head towards the lodge as soon as the gun shot went off. They watched as Walter's body fell limp and smacked against the ground with Carver standing over him, a puddle of blood beginning to form underneath his shoes.

"Walt!" Kenny exclaimed as he furiously began to reload his rifle.

Adrian's hand latched onto the rifle as he looked at Kenny sternly, "Don't," he warned. "We can't get trigger happy."

"You think I'm fuckin' happy about that?!" He spat, yanking his rifle out from Adrian's hand. "Our friend just got fuckin' shot in the head! I'm going to _kill_ that fucker!"

Kirsten could hear Carver's faint voice through the rain, the sound of it hit her like a ton of bricks.

"That's for our man! Now, I didn't wanna do this, but you ain't leavin' me much choice! So here's what's gonna happen, I'm gonna march another one of your friends out here and I'm gonna put a bullet in the back of their head! Or, you can give up now! Your choice!"

Kenny continued to load his rifle, prompting Adrian to stop him again. "No!" He harshly whispered before turning back over to Kirsten. He sighed, "Go. And see if you can get a better angle on Carver― a _definite_ one."

With a nod of her head, Kirsten sprinted out of the station and into the heavy rain. Her hand reached into the back of her pants to grab her pistol, but it wasn't with her. She felt her stomach sink a little as she patted herself down. _Shit, _she thought, _I fucking dropped it. _Her next move was her knife, which was thankfully sitting in her holster where she left it.

She stopped near the entrance of the lodge and cautiously took a peek, spotting Bonnie on top of the stairs next to a familiar blonde woman. _Natalie? _She thought to herself as she squinted. She took a chance and squeezed the handle of her knife before swiftly creeping cast the double doors and around the corner of the lodge. As she paused for a moment, she realized the throbbing in her head. She had a headache, it wasn't like she got them often. Along with allergies or anything deemed normal in the old world, a headache from no where had her strangely feeling a pang of nostalgia.

No, she needed to find Luke. She couldn't just sit there and think about old times. She rubbed her temples momentarily before she continued to move, briefly stopping at a nearby window. She saw Bonnie in front of the double doors, glancing through it as one of them closed. Did she open it for a second? Did she send someone outside? She couldn't sit and ponder, she needed to move before she―

**_CLICK!_**

_Shit._

Her eyes adverted up to a familiar face, the barrel of AK-47 and a pair of blue eyes narrowly stared back at her. Kirsten had no fire arms, the only weapon she had was the knife she firmly gripped in her hand.

"Is... this the part where you threaten me or straight up put a bullet between my eyes?" She slyly asked, her eyes no longer wide as her lips slither into a grin.

Natalie motioned for the woman to stand up and she obliged, putting her hands up in the air. She quickly snatched the knife out of Kirsten's hand and eyed her facial expression. "Where's Luke?" She firmly asked, slowly walking behind her and pushing the barrel of the gun into the back of her head.

"Some guy just shot one of your people and you're asking me where _Luke _is?"

Natalie dug the barrel harder into her head, "He could be the one behind the gun for all I know, could've shot Johnny himself," she said. Kirsten kept silent, her eyes moving towards the ground. "I'm not going to ask again―"

"How the hell should I know?" She retorted firmly, "I'm not his damn keeper, I don't have him on a leash." She forced her words to be cold, not because she wanted to, but because she needed to draw Carver and his guards away from any trace of Luke. And if that meant going back to the same attitude she had when she first stepped foot in the community, then so be it.

"That's a shame. Maybe you should," Natalie grinned before nudging Kirsten. "Walk," she demanded as she turned her around the corner.

"You know, your priorities are really fucked up."

* * *

"Hi, Alvin."

Rebecca's face lit up with fear, her arms reached out towards Carver who held her husband in his hands at gunpoint. "Bill, _no!_ Tell him to stop! Kenny, _stop!_" She pleaded, but to no avail did Carver let Alvin go.

"You remember George, Alvin?" He asked the man. "You see, I do. I remember a guy that was your friend, named George, and remember when you murdered him in cold blood, and why? Because you didn't like me?" Carver began to grin, "You could've lodged a complaint. Well, you could've... you could've been civil―"

Before Carver could continue, the double doors busted open. The gushing wind and sound of rain grew louder as a pair of women, one held at gunpoint, barged inside.

"Ow― Jesus! I could've just kicked it open for you, no need to slam my body into the fucking door―"

"Got one!" Natalie called out, pushing Kirsten up the stairs.

Kirsten glanced over at Bonnie who kept her head down, prompting her to huff. _Figures. _The woman was pushed over to where her fellow group members were held before Natalie bonded her wrists together with rope.

Carver peered over his shoulder and grinned, "Hmph," he grunted before whacking Alvin over the head with the handle of his revolver and sending him to the ground. "Bring her here," he demanded.

Kirsten eyes widened as she saw the revolver by his side, and as Natalie took her closer and closer to him, she began to resist. She applied pressure against the ground with her feet in an attempt to stop Natalie from pushing her forward, and she briefly succeeded, until Carver walked himself the rest of the way and met her in the middle.

He roughly latched onto her arm and yanked her out of Natalie's grip with a grunt. She wanted to resist, she tried to, if it meant escaping a bullet, but he was stronger than she was. He took a better grip of her when he wrapped his arm around her torso, lifting her up, he placed the gun against the side of her head and she bit down on her lip.

"We can do this all night!" He called out to the outsiders. "Is that what you want?!" She could feel his breath down her neck, as well as the cold barrel of his revolver.

"You pant like a dog," she spat slyly, yet regrettably, through gritted teeth.

His grip on her got tighter, squeezing the air out of her lungs as she grunted. "Not the smartest thing to say to someone who's about to take your life, Kirsten," he warned.

She couldn't bring herself to focus on his words, but rather on her struggle to breathe, her shaking hands, her racing heartbeat. She ignored his threats, the only thing she could think about is whether or not Luke was okay, or if he was near, if he was watching the possibility of her life being taken, or if he was scared enough to do something about it if he was.

For what seemed like eternity, she finally heard the double doors open.

"Two of 'em," Bonnie notified, watching the two men make their way up the stairs with their arms up. Carver dropped Kirsten onto the ground where she gasped for air, the drop creating a sickening thud. Adrian tried his hardest not to get himself killed, even if it meant blocking out the sound of his daughter's struggle to breathe.

Carver got down on one knee, sending a sly grin her way as he observed her struggle. "You pant like a dog," he teased, mimicking her previous words. She spat at him, directly at him. She caught him on the side of his face as she continued to pant, watching him use the back of his hand to wipe her saliva off.

He grabbed onto the back of her neck and roughly yanked her off the ground, "Get up. Get the fuck up." He signaled over Natalie and shoved Kirsten into her arms, making her take his hostage back to where the rest of her group was. As she was forced onto her knees, she glanced over at her father who gave her a sympathetic look. He was alright, and she was grateful.

Carver began to slowly pace back and forth, eyeing each member of the bounded group. "Where's Luke?" He huskily asked as Natalie handed over Kirsten's knife to him. He held it in front of his face as he observed it, still pacing. "Finally cut and run, huh? Why am I not surprised?" He rhetorically asked, stopping in his tracks. "I warned you. I warned you not to follow him, now look where he's led you," he says, looking around the lodge.

"But, you're safe now. We're going home... As a family."

* * *

**A/N: SONG FOR THIS CHAPTER: Blackbird's Song - Lee DeWyze **

**Finally! We've finished Episode 2 after half a year of being stuck on it. I'm really disappointed in myself that it's taken this long to even get half way through the game (it's been a little bit over a year since I rebooted this story), but I'm just glad we've gotten past Episode 2. **

**Anywho, let's get into the honorable mentions! Except, maybe some of these won't be honorable.**

**XxClemClemxX: **I absolutely love the buildup for this episode. The argument between Adrian and Kirsten was deep, intriguing, I felt as if it was the core part to the chapter, great update.

**Thank you so much! I'm 100% sure you're going to be happy with the next chapters to come, and I'm sure you know why :) Thanks for the review!**

**Guest: **Her dad right.

Anyone with a brain would notice that the person Luke is BUT No people are stupid and fail for his because he hot. Youe ether bimbo that Can't see that or don't care that a guy just uses you as long as hes hot.

**I don't know what story you've been reading, but it surely isn't mine. But if you actually have taken the time to read it, then you've just got a bad judge of character. Nonetheless, thanks for adding to my review count. ;)**

**Reystro: **It's actually super exciting to both be working on a fanfic again:D And I'm strangely looking forward to when Carver shows up and stops Luke and Kirsten from separating, hah!

**Oh, trust me. I've been looking forward to Carver showing up too. And I'm so glad you finally got around to posting the first two chapters! Your story is amazing! I really recommend my reviewers go check it out. Thanks for the review!**

**ShatteringSoul: **Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, it's getting closer and closer! I've just recently found this story and I fell in love with it almost immediately. I didn't read the original version, but I can say that I'm more than enjoying the rewrite! Your writing skills are amazing I must say. They way this story being written is beautiful, the romance is on point and in every scene I feel at the edge of my seat. Congratulations on such a masterpiece so far!

**Omg, hi! Welcome new reader! I love new readers. I think it's better that you didn't read the original version, it's borderline embarrassing, really. But oh my god, thank you so much! The first time I read this review I actually got so overwhelmed at the last bit you wrote, I kinda teared up! Thank you so so so much! You review means everything to me right now! Ah! Thank you!**

**Guest: **Why is it always Luke. Almost every time its Luke, Luke, Luke in romance paired with someone. Fuck for once it nice to see someone us in romance ship. For once I would like someone to change it up a bit, there lots of great characters in the game but as soon as Luke appear every seems to forget everyone us.

Why does the fandon forget about them for only one reason Luke " hot ". Just I like to fanfic where it not Luke in romance because there lots already and its getting boring.  
Luke a good characters but his popular is way over other characters.

**Well, since you aren't being as rude about it as others have, I'm not going to be rude back. So, thank you for that. But I'm not going to apologize for the overwhelming amount of Luke fanfictions there are, simply because I don't have a say on whether or not they are created. Just like you don't. If people want to make a fanfiction about Luke, then let them be. There are plenty of other stories that involve other characters and ships where Luke has literally no love interest, and there's also a lot of other websites other than this one where you can find them too. What I decide to make a story on really isn't any of your concern, considering it's what _I _choose to write about, and you don't need to read it. So, to save you the anger, all you need to do is just deal with the fact that you can't change what people write about. Hell, if you want a story with other characters being shipped, go ahead. Write it yourself. I fully support that you do. But people should be allowed to create any story that they wish without getting hassled about it being common. Thanks for your review.**

**Right, those are done. So, here's my little thank you note because feels and what not.**

**Thank you guys so much for 250 reviews, I can't believe I've actually gotten this far. As of February 2016 (and actually for a while beforehand) we are the most reviewed, most followed, and most favorite Luke/OC fanfiction on this website! That's hella crazy and I'm so grateful for you all. Your wonderful reviews have inspired me to expanding my writing knowledge, consider being an author as a career choice, and I'm _really _confident in my writing, too! You're all really lovely and I hope you guys like the next chapters to come for this story! **

**Just in case any of you don't know, I will be writing a sequel to this story for Season 3. I've planned to do that ever since Season 3 was announced and I hope you can all stick with me while I do so! **

**Thank you all so much for reading! **


	25. Confined To The Dark

**A/N: Hello! I'm so very sorry that I forgot to tell you all that I was going to take a break. So no, I haven't forgotten about the story, I've just taken a break that I really needed. Anyway, onto the story!**

* * *

"The fuck do y'all want now?"

The sudden burst of sunlight put a strain on her eyes momentarily, the last person Kirsten wanted to see was Troy. Yet she had a nagging hope that the next time the truck door opened, it'd be Luke on the other side. The least she could say was that "hope" stayed at the back of her head. As her eyes adjusted, Kirsten looked past her group members and laid eyes on an antsy Sarah who cowered behind her father, adjusting her glasses by the rim.

Carlos took a worried glance at his daughter before looking back at Troy, "Can we stop for a moment? My daughter needs to use the restroom," he informed him.

Troy gave the man a snobbish look, the corner of his top lip pulled up. "There ain't no fuckin' "restroom" in the middle of the woods, Doc. She gets to piss on a tree like the rest of us," he spat, gesturing his thumb behind momentarily. He gave the frightened teenager an expectant look, unknown to Bonnie appearing next to him. "Well? Get your ass up," he pressured as she warily stood up.

"Take the girl with you," Bonnie insisted, prompting Troy to give her a disapproved look. "They ain't goin' no where, not with the rest of 'em held up in here," she whispered to the man. As he looked back at truck's occupants, he eyed Clementine to stand up.

The little girl turned to Sarah and mimicked her movement, standing up, she followed her out of the truck where Bonnie cut off the girls' restraints. The last thing Kirsten saw was the two girls disappearing into brush of the woods before the truck door was slammed shut, darkness replacing nature.

"Fuck that guy," Kenny angrily muttered, earning a hush from Sarita.

Kirsten rolled her eyes, despite the lack of vision and mental agreement with Kenny. She just couldn't believe that they wound up like this, now investing her father into the mix. He couldn't possibly know what he's got in store for him and she doesn't want him to test the waters against Carver, she knew from experience that a smart mouth and a brave attitude is only going to get herself hurt― or worse, killed.

As Adrian could barely hear a conversation between Bonnie and what sounded like Carver, he let out a sigh. "How the hell did we get here?" He asked in a low voice, nudging his daughter next to him with his elbow. The woman sat silently, she didn't feel like talking, she felt exhausted. "Sitting here, rope around our wrists, in a storage truck." He huffed, "I don't even know if we're going to die or not," he admitted.

She let out an exhale, shaking her head as an her eyes lowered. "If we don't get on Carver's bad side, we probably won't," she told him. "He's gonna force us to work in his community that we don't want to be apart of, all while he feels some sort of stupid superiority. I'd rather sleep in and eat dirt for the rest of my life." Kirsten then shifted in expression, her face pulled together as she let out a shaky breath. "And I was stupid enough to get caught and force you guys to surrender. Now Luke's _God_ knows where out in the cold, he could be hurt or starving... and I'm sitting here, trapped in the fucking dark."

"This isn't your fault," Nick spoke out from next to her.

"Bullshit," she harshly replied.

"It ain't anyone's fault but Bill's," he responded. She sat silently, she wished she could believe him. "Trust me, Luke is out there tryin' to get to us, there ain't no reason to leave us behind."

Kenny rolled his eyes as he scoffed, "Oh, come on. You think _that _idiot's goin' to be our golden ticket out of here? You're out of your fuckin' mind," he insulted.

Before either Nick or Kirsten could get a word in, the sound of a loud smack had halted their conversation. The group were stunned into silence as Carver began to threaten either one of the girls. After the talking outside had stopped, they heard the door to the passenger side of the truck open and then close. Soon enough, the truck door had slid up. Sarah, and a red-faced Clementine entered the group's vision with a pistol pointed at them.

"In," Troy demanded the girls with a gesture of his gun. The girls stumbled inside the truck.

Sarita looked over at the girls worryingly, "Are you guys okay?" She asked, followed by Kenny's protective rambling.

"The hell did he do to you? Did he hurt you?" He frantically asked Clementine, soon turning his head over to Troy with anger as he began to shut the truck door. "Hey! _Hey!_"

**_SLAM!_**

* * *

The group sat in a fear-filled silence, only a cough or soft mumble was heard every so often. As the truck hit bumps and pot-holes, swaying them all side to side, Kirsten kept her eyes plastered onto the red mark on Clementine's cheek. A bubbling anger was felt in her stomach, how anyone could strike a child somehow baffled her, despite knowing that it was unfortunately quite common. His actions didn't feel new to her.

As the anger began to eventually sub-side, Luke wandered back into her thoughts and so did her guilt. If he was still out there, he couldn't have gotten far from the lodge on foot, meaning he was probably out in the storm. They'd been driving for what seemed to be a day and had made so much distance from the lodge. It worried her that he'd never get to them before something happened, let alone find them. She felt as if she was on the verge of a panic attack, her breathing would begin to quicken but she'd pace herself enough to calm her nerves. She never really knew what to do before or during a panic attack until she met Sarah. As much as Sarah wasn't good with physical defense in a world so dependent on it, she sure did know a good mental one.

The truck bounced as it hit another bump, it dragged Kirsten out of her thoughts and she realized she was staring at Clementine the whole time. She looked over to her father who patiently watched and waited for an eager Kenny to start talking again.

And he did.

"Alright, we gotta do somethin'. Come on, anyone got anything sharp? Anything?" He asked, almost begging the group in the vehicle. As they sat in silence, Kenny grew louder. "We need to get these bindings off!" He growled, "Hey! Clem, help me find something to get these off, anything sharp that could cut these."

"And what good is that gonna do?" Rebecca asked, raising her eyebrows to Kenny.

Kirsten leaned her head back, "Kill us, I hope," she muttered.

"Jesus, Kirsten," Adrian exclaimed.

Clementine looked down at the bindings on her wrists before replying, "Why bother?"

Kenny's face turned from grit to appalled as the truck shook it's occupants, "What?! How can you say that?" He defensively asked, his eyes wide.

The girl grew a bit timid, looking away from the man. "I just don't see how it's going to help," she replied.

As his eyes narrowed, his voice grew louder. A sense of fear washed over Kenny as it was a reminder of the past, he was stuck in captivity. Again. "We're in a fuckin' precarious situation here, we gotta do somethin' about that―!"

"Settle down, Kenny," Carlos demanded, keeping his eyes directly on the enraged man. "They took everything, we have to keep a level head," he insisted.

Rebecca nodded, adverting her eyes to Kenny. "He's right. You don't know Bill like we do," she told him.

Kenny raised an eyebrow at the woman, "Bill? This whole time it's "Carver, Carver, Carver," now he's fuckin' _Bill?_" He grimaced.

"I don't think his name is going to be an issue when he puts a bullet in your the back of your head," Kirsten assured, much to his dislike as he narrowed his eyes at her. "Everyone here besides Rebecca are just pawns in his fabricated, little world. We're as good as dead as soon as you give him a reason for us to be."

"Oh, I see what it is. Y'all are just gettin' a ride home, aren't ya? That's what's goin' on here." Kenny spat belittlingly, looking around to those who'd hung their head in shame.

Nick gritted his teeth as he turned to the older man, "Say that again," he threatened.

"I'd stay out of this, boy," Kenny retaliated.

"Right, _you're _a man."

Adrian turned to Kenny with a stern look, "That's enough! Matter of fact is, they know what we're dealing with here and _we_ don't. There's no point in getting ourselves killed trying to fight something we clearly can't," he told him with a raise of his voice.

"We don't know that until we try!" Kenny growled back.

"Adrian's right," Rebecca agreed. "Carver's different, he's... he's worse!"

Kenny turned to the woman bitterly, "The fuck are you talking about?"

The woman narrowed her eyes at the man's jagged words, but shrugged it off. "He wants to punish us for leaving when he didn't allow us to. He thinks he's got some... authority over us now, especially since he's got us back."

"For all we know, Luke could be an order to 'shoot on sight,' all because he was fortunate enough to get away," Kirsten suggested.

"But is... is he going to kill us?" Clementine asked, wide eyed as she rubbed where the bindings tied around her wrists.

"I― I don't think so..." Rebecca uneasily replied.

"He ain't goin' to get the fuckin' chance!" Kenny growled, leaning forward as his eyes narrowed.

"You have _no _idea what you're dealing with!" Carlos shouted, trying his best to tame Kenny's confidence. He grew angered by Kenny's blind threats. The lack of sense for other people's safety and thought to kill his way out of situations was only going to get himself and everyone else killed.

"Oh, he gave me a pretty good goddamn idea back at the lodge, and I don't intend to sit around here and let that happen to the rest of us!" Kenny replied boldly. "I'm tryin' to help, here!"

Carlos scoffed as his eyebrows raised, "I'm sure Walter really appreciated your help," he spat, much to Kenny's disheartening expression.

"That's not fair! You are blaming him for the actions of a mad man," Sarita objected, looking at Carlos with a stern eye.

Carlos shook his head in disagreement, "I am pointing out that regardless of intent, there are consequences to rash actions. Something _he _seems to be misreading as capitulation!"

Kenny gave the man a confused look, raising a corner of his top lip. "I don't know what the fuck you're saying, but I know it's _bullshit! _We have to do something!"

Kirsten raised her eyebrows at the man before turning to her father, "You've got to be kidding me," she muttered in reference to Kenny's sheer negligence.

Rebecca overheard the girl and shook her head in agreement, "You can't reason with him," she pointed out.

Soon, Kenny's eyes shifted to a broken steel beam along the side of the truck. He lit up as he began to get up and stumble over to it. "Jackpot!"

Carlos glared at the man as he watched him make his way across the truck, "Sit down, you're going to get us all killed!" He demanded.

The man scoffed as he bent down and began to use the jagged edges to cut through the ropes around his wrist. "Y'all don't know what you're talking about, we get cooped up in a kennel like a bunch of fuckin' dogs, it's over!" He spat, continuing to cut away.

"_We _don't know what we're talking about?" Kirsten pointed out. "The whole reason why we were on the run is because we knew what he could do!"

"Yeah, well, I've been in this situation before," Kenny told her. "You ever been a prisoner?"

"Why do you think we left? We got out of here for everyone's safety, something you seem to forget about whenever you want to pull the trigger on someone," she remarked. "The more think you're pulling a fast one on him, the more you seem to forget that he's got the upper hand. He's got guards, he's got guns, he's go ammo. We have _nothing, _and we'll keep on _having_ nothing if you give Carver a reason to."

As Kenny let her words go through one ear and out the other, the rope had finally been cut through and fell off his wrists. "Alright, now we're talkin'!" He exclaimed as he stood up and rubbed his wrists.

Kirsten gave the man an appalled look, "You're just going to ignore me?"

"Carver will be on the other side of that door with ten people," Carlos pointed out as he looked up at the man. "At this point, maybe Luke might be the only hope we have."

Kenny scoffed as he rested his hand against the truck for support, "If he was gonna do something, he'd have done it by now."

"You mean after you told him to piss off on his own?" Kirsten answered back in an insulting tone.

Rebecca looked up at the man with a raised eyebrow, "Who knows what he's dealing with. Anything can happen out there."

"I'll tell you what happened," Kenny said, switching his gaze to Kirsten. "He abandoned us."

"The fuck?" Kirsten hissed with narrowed eyes.

"You don't know that," Nick bitterly replied.

"I know he ain't here."

"And _I _know that he sure as hell didn't abandon us," Kirsten added in a hostile tone. "He didn't abandon Clem in the woods, and he didn't even know her. He could've let her been torn apart and you would have never seen her again, but he saved her life because that's just how he is."

Adrian, although wanting to believe her, didn't know where he stood about Luke's intentions. All he knew was Kirsten's seemingly sworn word. One side wanted to believe that Luke was somehow coming to help them get out of this, but the other side thought that Luke could have a change of heart and that maybe all of this wasn't worth coming to save.

He looked over to his daughter, the determination on her face couldn't be played with. She had her heart set on him, and he could see that. He hoped for her sake that Luke would make his way back to the group.

"Oh, please. That guy's a flake," Kenny insulted, "I could tell the second I set eyes on him."

"Fuck you," Kirsten retaliated. "You don't know a damn thing about him. He's going to help us get out of this."

Again, he scoffed. "Oh yeah? When? After that crazy fuck's killed us all?!" He replied in a hostile tone, leaning forward.

"At this point, you're giving Carver a fucking reason to!" Kirsten growled.

Before Kenny could reply with a response, the truck began to violently bounce as it hit a speed bump, the brake lights in the truck flashing at the group.

"We're close," Carlos informed.

Kenny nodded, "Okay, let's do this."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me―"

"They've got guns," Rebecca told him. "What do you expect to do?"

"I'm gonna punch the first son of a bitch I see," he began, "then I'm gonna take his gun, and use it to shoot the _next _son of a bitch I see."

Kirsten had given up at this point, it was like trying to get through to a determined brick wall. All she could see was watch this play out, even if he was content with getting himself killed, then by all means would she not stop him.

The truck had taken its last big halt before the reversing alert started to go off, the group swayed to the back of the truck as began to reverse.

"Just sit down," Carlos bitterly replied, narrowing his eyes at the man.

"Shut up, Doc," Kenny demanded. "This ain't your call."

Kirsten rolled her eyes as she leaned back against the truck wall. "Yeah, Carlos. Let him go for it. You're just cutting off the entertainment on our end."

Kenny ignored the girls' comment and turned around to face the gate of the truck. With balled fists and a determined face, he was ready for whatever was to come. "Alright, everybody ready―"

Maybe not the truck suddenly halting.

The man was flung forward and slammed his head against the gate of the truck, sending himself backwards and onto the ground. Sarita immediately bounced up off the ground and rushed over to Kenny's side.

Kirsten began to hold in her giggled, letting out a few before her father nudged her to stop.

"Kenny!" She gasped, "Kenny! Are you okay?"

"Jesus, Ken," Adrian exclaimed.

Rebecca, with wide eyes, looked over to Sarita. "Is he okay?"

"I- I think so?"

The man groaned, lifting his hand to his face and rubbing it. "Ugh... what hit me?"

Kirsten looked down at the man with a smirk on her face. "A truck driver with great timing."

* * *

**A/N: Woweeeeee, not the best ending to a chapter. I'm honestly not all that happy with how this chapter turned out, but there's just so much dialogue and not enough actions, and I just really wanted to get something out to you guys. I promise that the next chapter will be 100 times better, though! Oh, and again, I'm really, really, REALLY sorry that I didn't tell you guys about taking a break. It was the most ridiculous move I've pulled.**

**Anyway, onto other business. I'm really glad that you guys enjoyed the little part that Natalie (OC) had, there's definitely more to come. **

**But I need to say that when I first started the rewrite of this story, I was much more fruitful and was hardly in writers block like I have been for the past 6 months, which made me accept about 8 OC's. Kind of a big mistake, and I really do want to give out the best content that I can for you guys, which is why I'm sorry to say that I've got to take some out of the story. But fear not! These characters won't just vanish into thin air and out of the story, they still exist! I'm just going to write in closure for their character arcs as it's too difficult for me to incorporate them into the current story. **

**Now, I'm assuming that you'll want to know which OC's are going, but I'm going to leave you guys hanging on that one. For "creative purposes" lol. But seriously, I really hope you guys can understand where I'm coming from and not give me shit for it? Again, I'm doing this so I can provide the best content for you guys. So it's for all of you, and to take some stress off my mind. **

**Thank you guys so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. And if you're new and for some reason on the last chapter, I'd suggest reading the first one and giving this story a follow+fave :) Other than that, a review helps a ton! I want to know what you guys think of the latest chapter and/or the recent news I just had to break. **

**Next chapter should be up soon, and until then, happy reading! **


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